Eyes to See God’s Glory
Often I find myself mourning the fact that I didn’t keep a female cardinal feather found on a walk. There it was on an old quiet South Carolina road under the shade of low hanging oak trees and Spanish moss. The color complexity was too great for my eyes to comprehend. How could such a small space contain so many shades of pink to carmine, invading orange and dancing with grays at the same time? My walking partner commented on my silence. All I could express was that I was astounded at what I was seeing. These are the moments I find myself talking to God the most in spontaneous praise. As odd as it may sound, I think about that feather.
So I was thankful when friend showed me the words of Paul Tripp in a book she was reading, The Power of Words and the Wonder of God. I had known that Tripp was a writer and teacher, but was pleasantly surprised to find that he is also an artist. No wonder he is such a brilliant observer. This he sweetly said:
We live in the middle of this awesome glory display, but we have this perverse ability to look at the created works and not see the glory of God. If you can look at your world and not see the glory of God, then you’re a profoundly disadvantaged human being, because you’re wired for glory. If you don’t see the glory of God, then you’ll see glory where glory can’t be found. And that really is the mission of my life: to give people eyes to see the glory of God.
…I was by a pond. I picked up the feather of a bird. I don’t know why I picked it up. It looked white. And I had a white shirt on. And when I put it against my white cuff it was gorgeously striped with grey coursing into black. And I thought, “What an awesome God! How many birds are there? And each one of these feathers has been painted with this kind of artistry!” My knees were getting weak. And it was just a feather!*
Artist’s prayer: Lord, give us light that we may have eyes to behold and be awed by your glory. And in gratitude, let us give this gift away to others, that all the world would have eyes to see the glory of God.
*Paul Tripp as quoted in Editors, John Piper and Justin Taylor’s The Power of Words and the Wonder of God, Crossway, Wheaton. 2009, pp. 159.
by Melanie Spinks
