A Lesson in Theology

“God sure did paint the sky pretty tonight.”

“God painted the sky?”

“He sure did. Isn’t it pretty?”

“God painted the sky. God painted the sky. God painted the sky.”

This was the theological discussion I had with my granddaughter on an evening walk with her dad and her dog. I don’t use the word theological lightly–because the beauty of creation is an abundant source of God-knowledge.

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Romans 1:20 (ESV)

I know this verse in Romans is not in a flowers-and-rainbows kind of passage. It’s about the gospel, faith, and God’s wrath. Mankind has no excuse if he rejects God–because God has revealed Himself in what He’s made. God can be seen. God can be known.

I also have no excuse if I don’t grow every single day in my knowledge and understanding of God. He may seem distant and far-off. I may not see Him at work in my life. But the sun rises and sets every single day.

The sunrise and sunset are theological. They help me know God. He is endlessly creative. He is deeply good. He is wildly generous.

These attributes of God are clearly perceivable in the things He has made.

And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 

Genesis 1:16-17 (ESV)

I separate things all the time–clothes for washing, eggs for baking, children for peace. I simply put one part over here and the other part over there, and they are separate. Nothing of beauty comes from my act of separating.

But when God set His great lights in the sky to separate the light from the darkness, He chose to mark the separation with something spectacular.

Every single day we get two free lessons in theology. First from the sunrise. And just in case we sleep in, we get a second lesson in the sunset.

The sunrise and sunset teach that God is extraordinary. He has flair. He creates beauty just because He can.

Every sunset is different. Every day. In every geographical location. From every vantage point. Every tree, every body of water, and every cloud change the pattern. Even a single sunset changes drastically from one second to another.

God never changes, but His creation is never the same from one moment to the next.

A Better Way

Often I’m so task-focused that I miss the theology around me. Or maybe, it would be better to say, I’m so busily distracted I lose focus on God in front of me.

Take a deep breath, and notice.

What attributes of God are evident around you? What made-things are emanating His eternal power? What glimpses of His divine nature are manifesting?

Let’s open our eyes. Let’s have some theological discussions about what God showing us who He is.

A sunset. A flower. A newborn. What inspires your awe?