For some unknown reason Momma Cardinal built her nest in the branches of a small, potted tree right next to our back door. She was not frightened away from our dogs or us, and soon there were two eggs in the nest. Momma faithfully sat on the nest until the eggs hatched and then we watched in awe from just a few feet away as her tiny, sightless, featherless babies grew into gangly teenagers. One day we found them sitting on the branches below the nest. By the end of the next day they had flown away. That was last spring. This year she returned and we watched the whole miracle happen again, except this time there were three babies. We wonder how many babies she will raise in our tree next spring.
I went hiking once up a little, winding foot trail off Highway 25 just out of Denver, CO. I started out just wanting some exercise in the crisp mountain air, but soon realized I had stumbled across one of the most beautiful places I would ever be in my life. The path wound along the steep slope of a mountain and a river flowed in the valley far below. Around every bend was another surprise: a meadow solid with wildflowers; a patch of mist hovering around a grove of trees; the breathtaking view of a distant, snow-covered mountain top; an abandoned mining cabin with moss growing on the sides and baby pine trees coming up through the floor boards; and to top it all off, a narrow waterfall that must have been several hundred feet tall, its water softly crashing into the river far below.
These are just a couple of examples of me experiencing God's beautiful creations. I have many, many more examples: more walks in nature, sunsets, meeting my wife for the first time, seeing our newborn baby, seeing the ocean, and the list goes on. I'm sure you have your own experiences. In nature there is a sense of purity and goodness. There is beauty in all of God's creations, for as Genesis 1:31 says, Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.
I like to think of God's creations as sculptural masterpieces. As my family watched Momma Cardinal and her babies, we were art connoisseurs, examining and appreciating works by the Master. We even got to see the creative process at work, the artwork being sculpted before our eyes, as the babies grew up and became adults themselves. When I went hiking in Colorado, I was immersed in a landscape of God's sculptures, each unique wonder being combined with the others into an inspiring display of His creativity.
That brings me to the purpose of this writing. You see, God is truly the Master Sculptor. When I, as a human artist, examine His creations for their artistic value, I find an amazing variety of composition and proportions, of shapes, colors, textures, harmonies, and details. All of these are artistic concepts, and God achieves them to perfection. The more I study God's sculptures, the more I admire His creative power, and the more gratitude I feel towards Him for sculpting you and me and the beautiful world in which we live. I want to share my admiration with you. From the idea stage to the finished sculpture, we will look at God's sculptural masterpieces from the perspective of the sculpting process. We will marvel together at the artistic beauty of His works. We will look with wonder at the complexity and function of their design.
And together we will praise God, the Master Sculptor, for creating His greatest masterpieces, you and me, not just to be set on a living room shelf like a man-made sculpture, but to have a much greater purpose of display. You see, not only does God shape our outward form, but He wants to mold our inward form as well. If we look to Him, He will mold our hearts after His own, for "by beholding we become changed!" Then He will put us on display to the rest of the world as witness to Him!
Next: Tools of the Trade