Clothed in Splendor

Springtime can be very beautiful in the foothills of California. The diversity of wildflowers is amazing. As the season progresses, the composition and colors of the landscape change. Early in the season, oranges and yellows from California poppies and fiddleneck dominate.

Early Season Yellow Flowers

California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)

Fiddleneck (Amsinckia menziesii) introducing
Twining Snake Lily (Dichelostemma volubile)

Later, varied shades of pink from different species of Clarkia prevail.

Pink Patches from Clarkia Flowers

Speckled Clarkia (Clarkia cylindrica)

Winecup Clarkia (Clarkia purpurea)

Elegant Clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata)

I find it hard to comprehend how all the colors of the rainbow can be combined with different shapes and textures to create a display that excites my eyes, whether viewed from far away or close by. But as majestic and overpowering to the senses as this is, it is nothing compared with the Glory of God. I think even the Psalmist struggled to describe it.

³Declare his glory among the nations,
     his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
⁴For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
     he is to be feared above all gods.
⁵For all the gods of the nations are idols,
     but the LORD made the heavens.
⁶Splendor and majesty are before him;
     strength and glory are in his sanctuary.

¹¹Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
     let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
¹²let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.
     Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;
¹³they will sing before the LORD, for he comes,
     he comes to judge the earth.
  He will judge the world in righteousness
    and the peoples in his truth.

Psalm 96:3-6, 11-13

How do you describe God, the Creator of all that is? Every day, scientists all over the world publish papers trying to describe the things God has made and how they all work. Millions of pages are written, yet the job is nowhere near complete. And if it is that hard just to discover and catalogue these things, how can we begin to picture the One who imagined and spoke it all into existence?

How grateful I am, then, that this awesome God chose to reveal Himself to us by sending His prophets and His Son, Jesus, that we might know something about Him. And while we cannot know everything about God—indeed our minds are incapable of such knowledge—yet we can know everything that is important to know.

Thank you, God, for revealing yourself to us by sending Your prophets and the written word they recorded as well as sending Your Son, Jesus, that we might be able to know You.