See the Visible | Gratitude for the Invisible
And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Isaiah 6:3
My wife and I have been enjoying hiking in the mountains during the season change to fall. The Colorado mountains are especially beautiful and colorful this time of year.
Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain writes,
“Through the Vision of Creation the Mind Rises to the Knowledge and the Love of the Creator
… He (The contemplative person) can thus reason and say: If the sky which is created is so beautiful, so full of light, how much more luminous is the Creator of the sky? On this point St. Dionysion said: ‘For essentially the effects are present, standing clearly before their causes.’ And so the mind climbs as high as it is possibly can to the knowledge of the Creator, and with this knowledge the mind excites the heart and the will to love this Creator.”
“St. Basil encouraged us to think such thoughts and through them to rise from the visible to the invisible and from the ephemeral to the eternal. He wrote: ‘If these ephemeral things are so wonderful, how much more are the eternal? And if the visible are so good, how much more good are the invisible?” Nicodemos of the Holy Mountain. A Handbook of Spiritual Counsel. Translated by Peter A. Chamberas. 1989.
Our senses were created for us to experience and take in the physical world. But more than that they give us the opportunity to experience the invisible Creator and have a depth of awe and appreciation for Him.
When I see the mountains, grasses, bushes, trees, streams, waterfalls, and majestic rock, I see the Creator who made it for me to enjoy.
When I see the beauty of my wife, I see the Creator who made a companion for me to do life with.
When I see my children and their little ones, I see the Creator who has blessed me with family and new life.
When I see inspiring architecture, I see the Creator who place the raw materials and gave humans the able to design and create.
And this is just with the eyes. We can do the same with touch, smell, tasting, and hearing.
My prayer for you this week is that you will take in with your senses all that is good around you and see the Creator that is behind it all.
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8
Running the Race,
David
P.S.
I love you, appreciate you, and highly value you. God has much planned for you in His Kingdom!