"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. It is a place of lush greenery, dramatic mountain ranges and miles of pristine, uninterrupted coastline. The Pacific Northwest is a sanctuary of nature. It is a place where God breathed moisture and vegetation and coolness into the earth. Driving for an hour or two in any direction thrills a traveler with numerous experiences of the senses.
The Columbia River Gorge is a blue-green valley carved into the landscape by the mighty Columbia and its scenery is that of mile after breathtaking-mile of nature simply showing off. Plunging waterfalls, plateaus carpeted in evergreen, lush creek beds blanketed with delicate ferns and lichen, and the raging midnight-blue Columbia, itself amassed with chopping white caps and diving herons.
The high desert of Central and Eastern Oregon is a mix of sage and juniper punctuated by sharp, rust-colored lava flows, jettisoning from the earth, cinders from numerous local sleeping craters. The air accosts the lungs with a pungent earthiness and a warm aliveness that is unique and penetrates the very marrow of the explorer.
Our Pacific Coastline is for all intents and purposes, indescribable. Sand and rock and water and land seem to come together in a symphony for the senses: saltwatered lips, melodious crashing waves, white-meets-blue-meets-grey, gritty-sand and ocean-spray, moist, tangy sea-air, a horizon that drops you into oblivion and a vastness that makes you question your place in the galaxy.
There is no scientific explanation for beauty.
There are the concepts of beauty in the animal kingdom in regards to procreating a species. If you are the most glorious male peacock, you will in turn attract the most glorious peahen to mate to make the most glorious peachicks (that’s really the name, I swear, you can look it up). Survival of the fittest (or prettiest)...
There is the concept that we, as humans, are attracted to the beauty of nature, in the sense of foliage and plant life. One could argue that due to the fact that green growing-things tell our primal self that there is sustenance to be found in the form of fruit, berries, roots and fauna, in essence food sources and survival, our attraction would be piqued. Alternatively, another argument is posed that we are attracted to the dry, desolate desert because it calls to the adventurous self to seek out the aforementioned foliage to sustain our existence. The thrill of victory over the elements. It is the perseverance of the human-existence.
All this aside, there is not a scientific explanation for beauty in regards to beauty itself. Science cannot explain why anyone should be moved to tears at a sunset or why one would seek the solace of a sunrise to breathe in the light of the morning. There is no science behind why we are awestruck when we see fields, mountains, rivers, or rolling-green valleys. Science can’t explain it. But maybe religion can. The answer might surprise you, or if you know me, it might not surprise you at all.
The answer is God.
We see beauty because we see God’s glory. We are made in his image so as God can appreciate the beauty of his creation, so we too appreciate the beauty of his creation.
“I declare this world is so beautiful that I can hardly believe it exists.” is a quote from Emmerson. The beauty of creation is a reflection of the beauty of the creator. God wants to delight us in his majesty, so doesn’t it cause to reason that he would thrill us with a mighty mountain clothed in the winter-white of snow. Wouldn’t it make sense that we would feel a stirring in our heart as we gaze at the golden reds and oranges of the sun rising and setting on all that he created? Wouldn’t it be just like God to give us enough longing in our soul to ache at the beauty of white capped ocean waves and feel our minute humanity in the expansive, enormity of this amazingly intricate world.
God wants us to fall in love with him through his beauty in creation.
It is the most tactile way of connecting with us. What we feel… What we see… What we experience in nature is a drop in the pool of God and his character. It is a dim reflection of his beauty.
Our breath catches and our chest aches at the brilliance of creation because we are hard-wired to be in his presence. We are imprinted with his fingerprints and embedded with his brushstrokes. Our awe and wonder of the magnificence of nature is our awe and wonder of an ever present God. He spoke us into existence. He sprinkles our path with his glory.
So if you’re feeling like you need a spiritual kick-in-the-pants or are experiencing a disconnect from your spirit… Take this free advice: get out there! Be out there! Nature is calling to your soul. It is beaconing you to reconnect your spirit with The Spirit. Experience the wonder of a Creator who has given you a precious gift, a gift that you can freely receive by just stepping out your front door.
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