Worship the Creator

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
Romans 1:20 (NASB)

This verse from Romans chapter one tells us that all men are without excuse when it comes to their knowledge of God, because He has made His invisible attributes, His eternal power, and His divine nature known to us through what He has created. But what does it mean that we can know His invisible attributes?

What Paul is saying here in this verse is that by observing the order of the universe we know that God is a God of order; by observing the power of the ocean or or the power of the sun we can know that God is powerful; by looking at a oak tree we can see that God is strong. God is not any of these objects, but His nature is seen in all of them. Through His creation we can see that God in Omnipotent, we can see that He is Omniscient, we can see that He is loving, we can see His beauty. In other words, this verse makes it clear that on judgment day there is not a man who has ever lived who will be able to say "I just didn't know that You were really real." The witness of creation will just not allow it. William MacDonald writes:

The argument here is clear: Creation demands a Creator. Design demands a Designer. By looking up at the sun, moon, and stars, anyone can know there is a God."

The verse then goes on to say that because of this all men are without excuse. So what does man do with this knowledge? Look at the next few verses:

For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

Romans 1:21-23 (NASB)

These verses make it clear that all men know there is a God, but that because we have chosen to not honor Him as God our hearts have been darkened by foolish speculations and unprovable theories. Man has exchanged the glory of God for idols we have made with our own hands and minds. We no longer worship God; we worship His creation, as is seen in verse 25:

For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Romans 1:25 (NASB)

In Ecclesiastes 3:11 we are told that God has placed eternity in the heart of every man. Here in Romans we can see that the creation speaks of God's eternal power. Christianity is not a blind faith; we don't step blindly into the dark. We can see the attributes of God through His creation. God is not opposed to science; He created it, and it all points to Him. Robert Jastrow, an astrophysicist and director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has said:

Now we see how the astronomical evidence supports the biblical view of the origin of the world. … The essential elements in the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis are the same. Consider the enormousness of the problem: Science has proved that the universe exploded into being at a certain moment. It asks what cause produced this effect? Who or what put the matter and energy into the Universe? And science cannot answer these questions. …

For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been there for centuries.

(God and the Astronomers [New York: Norton, 1978], pp. 14, 114, 116)

The problem is that man is sinful and we don't want to accept that there is a God that we will one day have to stand before and that we will have to give an account of our lives, so we have chosen to believe a lie and we have exchange the glory of God for the worship of what He created. 2 Peter 3:10 tells us that "...the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up." and 1 John 2:17 says, "The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever."

Why do men worship creation when we can worship the God who created it? Becasue we are sinful. Spend some time today observing the creation around you, remember that through it we can see His power, His nature, and His attributes reflected in what He has made. Pay attention and see what you can discover about God through it, you may be amazed by what He reveals about Himself. Then spend some time worshiping Him and thanking Him for the beauty of what He has created for us to enjoy.

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