Treasures of the Deep
December 17, 2007 by Ingrid Schlueter
The children and I got to see some of the most unbelievable creatures today while watching a DVD from NOVA called, “Treasures of the Great Barrier Reef”. If you ever have a chance to get this one from the library, it will leave you spellbound to see the unbelievable glory of God’s creation. These little life forms, some so fragile and transparent as to not even seem real, are so beautiful and so intelligent that it seems impossible that anyone could not believe in the Creator. Despite their beauty, it’s a jungle down there in the ocean, with even the most innocent-looking creatures demonstrating an array of defenses that God programmed into them for their survival.
What kept impressing me were the vibrant colors the Lord used. Down in the dark of the sea, it wouldn’t seem necessary for all that beauty and color to be there, and yet every exquisitely painted creature points again and again to a master designer and master artist who made these animals not only functional, but beautiful. We saw sea snakes, rainbow-colored damsel fish, clown fish, wrasse, Christmas tree worms, luring moray eels, manta rays and whale sharks, to name a few.
O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
–Psalm 8
He is seen on all of nature.
It is so amazing how He has made the seasons and the timing of everything.
You can’t help but see God’s design in all of nature.
And that is nature not mother nature.
God created it all, not a woman.
I just thank Him for all the beauty He has given us to enjoy while we are here.
The oceans are truly a masterpiece of His work in creation.
Even the seas will give up her dead when He commands it.
Think about that one!
I heard Paul Washer speaking about what God created and how all of nature was set in place by Him.
And we have the nerve to tell God no!
The trees even bow to God.
And we rebel.
What a sad mistake to make.
It’s amazing that God made it obvious in His Creation that He created it.
Not out of a big bang or chaos…which is insanity…
But we have been given eyes that see and truly understand the beauty of God’s creation while not worshiping the creation more than Him.
Thanks for the reminder. I remember going to the National Aquarium in Baltimore and there were sections devoted to the creatures of the deep sea where even in the dark, there were colors on those fish.
We serve a mighty God!
Here in the midwest we have been experiencing ice and snow which are truly beautiful. I have seen flocks of Canada geese flying overhead and feeding in the cornfields. The make equisite patterns when they fly, in perfect uniformity. The deer which are so prevalent in some parts of the city and also on the outskirts are easy to see, even with this being the hunting season. Today, I had errands on the other side of town and took the by-pass to avoid traffic. I saw spectacular displays of glistening ice on every kind of tree, bush and the grassy knolls. The large birds like the hawks and owls are busy sitting on the roadsigns and also in the treetops. I wondered how they feed when it is so snowy and icey. But our God knows how to sustain them all. . .Job 28 is a powerful passage of Scripture! Have you read it lately?
While struggling with a bit of doubt lately (the attack following a great victory you wrote about earlier) I couldn’t help but take my eyes off God’s creation and ask myself, “then how did THIS happen?” The book of Job talks about how the ostrich lays her eggs on the ground where they may be trampled because the Lord didn’t give her much sense. And I look at my cat and wonder who taught her to be so wiley and smart. Why is her fur so soft to the touch, and who placed the orbs of her eyes so perfectly in their sockets? Your comment on the beauty of creatures that do not even openly roam the light of day reminds me of the galaxies one can see from images from the Hubble space telescope. They are in beautiful form, displaying the intelligence of their creator. And they exist for Him. What is truly humbling is that these stars declare God’s glory even without our participation. We can not even know they are there (as with the beautiful sea creatures) and yet they can declare God’s glory. He doesn’t need us to declare His glory. This should serve to remind us of that.