My wife and I just came back from a ten day vacation to Argentina and besides enjoying the wonderful food I stood in awe at some of the most spectacular scenery I have ever viewed in person. While nature was clearly on display on our vacation one verse kept occurring in my mind: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Psalm 19:1).
I also kept thinking about what the atheists, who believe in evolution, must be thinking as they viewed these marvelous sights. From the spectacular waterfalls in Iguazu Argentina, in the Northern part of the country, which incidentally make up the largest waterfall system in the world, to the amazing Perito Moreno glacier, in Patagonia, in the Southern part of the country, these natural wonders clearly either put God’s glory on display, if you believe in a Creator, or are just another accident caused by the chance collision of mindless molecules if you believe in evolution.
I love the way the great scientist, George Washington Carver, spoke about these marvels of our planet when he shared: “I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.”1 You see I, like George Washington Carver, believe that nature is one of the ways that God speaks to us about His existence. From a beautiful red rose to a giant redwood tree, nature is telling us that these special divine creations, that for the Christian leave us in a state of awe, are just part of God’s glory being shared with His children.
Sadly, for the person who believes in evolution, the word awe doesn’t seem appropriate, if all they view these natural marvels as being freak accidents. But for the Christian, nature is one of the most delightful and amazing expressions of God’s creativity and beauty that exists, letting all humans know that our world, despite its brokenness, has wonderful traces of divine awe all around us, “if we will only tune in.”
Blind chance or brilliant creation. One view of nature leads only to insignificance and despair while the other leads to awe, wonder, and eternal bliss. My trip to Argentina only made me more aware than ever before that nature does indeed declare the glory of God and that meditating on God’s glorious creation is one of the most awe-inspiring things we as humans have the privilege to behold before we ascend to the most awe-inspiring place of all – heaven!
1 Quote by George Washington Carver: “I love to think of nature as an unlimited broad…” (goodreads.com)