“He hath made every thing beautiful in his time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).
The complexity and order in nature from the billions of bits of precise DNA information on our genomes(Psalm 139:16) to the life cycle dependency of organisms in our ecosystem (Psalm104:14) are proof of God. But beyond that, that we find beauty in creation reveals a personality of emotion, pleasure, and goodwill (Revelation 4:11; 1 Timothy6:17). God’s predominate trait is love. “God is love” (1 John 4:16). This is not a selfish love of self-gratification but is revealed in seeking the welfare and delight of mankind. It reveals itself in nature, in beauty, designs, and miraculous innovations that could not self-organize from random chaos (Ecclesiastes3:11).
The pagan (both ignorant and educated) venerates the earth, the animals, birds, and the sun,moon, and stars. The Christian worships the cause of all this, the Creator who paints the sunsets!
Beauty and Fine Humor in Creation
A scientist born and raised under the repression of communism began to see the conflict of his evolutionary teaching with the real world. His testimony was, “I came to realize that the order, beauty, and sense of fine humor with which the world is built cannot come from chaos and randomness. I was sure there was a designer.” Often, in the absence of some quality, we begin to think about and value it more highly. So, in the somber existence under godless communism, people began to notice the cooperation, mutual dependence, and beauty in creation. This is a witness that God has invested Himself in nature (Romans 1:20).
The Personality of God Revealed
In Job 38 and 39 God gave Job a long science quiz. The implied answers reveal His sovereignty over creation and man’s weakness. “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?” “Where is the way where light dwelleth?” Man still isn’t sure what light or gravity physically is. “Canst thou send lightnings that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are?” Can we fully understand the principles that make the telephone possible? How can electricity be used to carry voices so we can say, “Hello, here we are.” How could the intricate patterns on bird plumage appear except by an innovative God of sensitivity, emotion, and humor? “Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks?” (39:13).
Birds could just honk, squeak, or croak to call mates and defend territory, but they were given voices to sing beautiful songs of warbles, trills, and flute-like notes. Who thought of putting the parallel black and white lines down a chipmunk’s back? The animal doesn’t care. The colors and designs off lowers are beautiful works of art. Intricate designs are seen in nature such as the geometry in the spiral design of sunflower seeds. The closer we look, the more amazing the precision and design becomes,
down to and beyond the molecular level.
The wood duck would be an artistic achievement for any innovative person. Begin with a small duck. First divide the lower body with a vertical black and white band. Make the back part a light brown color and the front a dark chocolate brown. Separate it from the upper wing with a series of black and white curved lines. In the chocolate front put vertical rows of little white arrow dots. Give it a pure white throat with a white band going around the neck and another up around to accent the cheek.
Next do the head. Start with a prominent feather crest that curves down the back. Make it dark green with a multicolored bill-red and black with a yellow base. The eye is bright red outlined in orange. Then take a very fine paintbrush and outline the crest with a thin white line. Start at a point on the bill and follow up around the top and back down to the rear point of the crest. Another fine line returns toward the eye and ends above the cheek line. More designs can be found in the back and tail. The DNA information for all the colors on the feathers to lineup for the precise design exceeds the achievement of a color laser printer. No wonder someone has loosely defined wood ducks as “water fowl in wedding dress.”
The human body is also a marvel of design and beauty. “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth” (Psalm 139:14, 15).
The Failure of Materialistic Evolution
Evolution’s supposed mutation of genes, natural selection, and survival of the fittest is strictly a utilitarian process. Only those things that serve a purpose and help an organism survive should arise and remain. Utilitarian means “aiming at usefulness rather than beauty or style.” The scientific law of entropy would further degrade the result of naturalistic evolution. This second law of thermodynamics governs the universe and states the fact of “the dissipation of energy and tendency toward disorder” (see Hebrews 11:1). This law in evolution’s hypothetical long ages would even eliminate any designs that did not give an organism a survival advantage. This proven law of decay comes from God’s curse on creation because of sin (Genesis 3:17). The “law of sin and death” now affects all men (Romans 8:2). God also promises that this whole creation will yet be “delivered from the bondage of corruption” (Romans 8:21).
What we see in our world is God upholding His universal laws by His power (Hebrews 1:3) while the curse of sin brings degeneration. “They all shall wax old as doth a garment; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up” (Hebrews 1:11-12). The travail of degeneration and death was not God’s original plan (Romans8:20).
Years ago we found some “sea eggs” along the seashore in the Bahamas. These fragile calcium shells are the outside skeletons of sea urchins. The round urchin is a drab gray-green color with spines sticking out all around when it is alive. But the white calcium shell that is left when the body dies and decays is beautiful. It has rows of white dots running down around the sides in bands of soft violet. Rather than having any survival advantage this beauty could only be seen after it was dead! Such beauty and design are purposeless except for its appeal to the spirit of man and the glory of God. It does seem that it takes a touch of God in the soul to strike a note of harmony with the touch of God in nature.
The Nature of Man Exposed
God intended that order and “the beauty of holiness” (righteous living) would exist among people also. Jesus was born into the world to bring “on earth peace, good will toward men”(Luke 2:14). We have been given bodies with amazing functions and an intellect and strength to serve others. The Christian magnifies the cooperation and beauty in nature, and meekness and righteousness among men.
It’s not without significance that evolutionists glorify struggle for the top (being the survivor) which brings suffering and death to the weaker (survival of the physically fittest [most powerful and ruthless]). It’s the evil nature in man that relishes battle and supremacy. They ignore the suffering masses and their own final needs when human weakness reaches them. Instead of tolerance, and respect for life and others that make a nation strong, we see killing of the unborn, and school and workplace shootings. Growing intolerance is seen in a litigating society with animosity between welfare and well-to-do classes. Selfism brings much conflict and sorrow. To these people,the evidence of God in the marvels of this world are lost.
The danger in extremes, as with most things, gives Satan an opportunity to snare people with venerating beauty above God. When people do see natural beauty, too often they worship and serve “the creature more than the creator” (Romans 1:25). A primary avenue of leaving true faith (apostasy) is in magnifying the arts (music, painting, sculpture, poetry and other literature, and physical beauty) over obedience to the principles and Word of God. Emotional soul worship is the opposite extreme of callousness to the intimacy of a personal, born-again experience with Jesus. This “soulish” worship is warned against in the Scriptures by Jesus and others (Luke 6:46; James 2:17, 18; Malachi 2:13).
A Beautiful Life
The best manifestation of beauty in the earth is for God’s people to demonstrate His will and power in a beautiful life. The beauty of character when the fruits of the Spirit are exercised, and men, women, youth, and children are at rest with each other and with God is a miracle of grace.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians5:22, 23).
A delight to do God’s will produces the beauty of holiness demonstrated in righteousness. “The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever” (Isaiah32:17).
-by Elvin Stauffer