Like a strong man...

"Their voice goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
    which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat."
Psalm 19:4-6 ESV

Not a defect

While some may consider it a defect, I think the star-effect on my Android camera lens is cool.

caught a tiny rainbow with my lens

moon gets rays

Tracing the sun's path

During this morning's commute, heading east and the sun headed west, I traced it's path through dawn, sunrise, and morning.

dawn

sunrise

morning

The Tree

Caught sunrise through a rather well-formed tree this morning.

Shrouded Moon

This morning the moon shone through clouds, traveling its course to the horizon.

toward the West

All dressed in pink and purple

Thursday's sunset, all dressed in pink and purple.

Walking thru sunrise

Caught the early bus this morning and arrived on campus during sunrise. So good.

The rain falls

Enough rain to make puddles.

Street lights reflected in rain puddles down an alley

Filtered through mist

The sky was shrouded in a light mist this morning, giving sunrise a beautiful glow.

Little bits of wild, here and there

I love the bits of wild, tucked in the edges of freeway on ramps.

Will we see?

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4 ESV).

What explains beauty?

Why do we recognize beauty at all?  It's a question with much discussion and a long answer. It's bigger than this short reflection can cover, but I’ll touch on a small part of an explanation. I believe our perception of beauty rests in God. We look at his creation and the things we have made from his creation, and we see their beauty. We are can perceive beauty because God himself is beautiful and he made us for himself. We see his glory declared by them.

Reflected

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1 ESV).

As beautiful as nature is, it is a dim reflection
of the beauty of God. As amazing as humanity is (and we are amazing, for we bear his image) we pale in comparison to the Son, for he is the very image of God. When you see the Son, you see the Father (John 14:9). Flesh veiled his divine glory during his earthly ministry, yet his glory remained evident to those with eyes to see. After his resurrection and ascension, there was more.

Waiting

“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power” (Hebrews 1:3a ESV).

Jesus is the apaugasma, the radiance reflection, or brilliance of the glory of God. He does not merely reflect this glory. He himself is the incarnate reflection of this glory. So, in nature we see declarations of glory. In humanity, we see his image born in creation. In the Son, we see the glory itself.

Changing

His glory is everywhere we look, and if we are to perceive and experience it, we must attend.  We must pause along the way,

And so we wait...

being where we are rather than where we intend to end up. We must see reality in light of God's beauty, for only then will the impact be sufficient. Only then will we understand his glory in that which is daily and mundane. Only then will we see how the variety in creation reflects God's variegated glory. We will see his glory reflected in the daily transformation of night to day and day to night. We will see it reflected in the transformation of spring blooms to summer fruit and fall harvest to winter rest. We will begin to understand that while God's glory is more complex and beautiful than creation can ever tell, creation continues to declare. We will see that even when darkness and chill
shroud his glory, it remains visible for those who see.

Night shot

All dressed up

The trees on our campus have the lovely habit of not keeping with the seasons: so nice to have fall color in the middle of January.

The edge of morning

Indigo fades...

In the wild

I love ducks.

Ducks in the creek that runs through Biola's campus

The cycle continues

Monday is all dressed up.

Morning begins another week

And so we wait...

Standing in the dark and chill. . .

Changing

Things can change so quickly.

Ominous, with a peak to clear

Clear has arrived

Waiting

Waiting is nearly always part of the journey.

1st stop

2nd stop

But along the way...

What explains beauty?

Science can explain fall color, but I do not think it can explain the beauty.

One of the few trees that goes vibrant in Southern California. Sorry. Don't know the name.

Reflected

Walking across campus this morning, I passed The Word, Kent Twitchell's mural of Jesus, the incarnate Word, holding forth the written Word, and there, reflected in the window, was sunrise.

Glory reflected in nature and art.

Sometimes truth is in an unexpected place

Though the sun rises in the East, sometimes its glory is only seen in the West.

First sunset of 2016. And so it begins.  

Second sunrise. Amazing how the western sky glows so much up here.

In Context

We always see from where we are.

Through the trees, toward the horizon