Image of God

From the top of Mount Washington we saw nothing.  White fog formed a wall around us at the peak, and I could only just see the outline of one of my brothers 10 feet away.  So then, into the white veil we made our descent.  And as we began our hike down, winds began to blow the fog across the mountain so that the ground rose up before us.  Then finally, the veil swept aside and we had our full view of the mountain and the valley.

We stopped.
Awestruck.

And in my heart I wondered, if I spread my arms wide enough, would the wind take me soaring?  How beautiful and marvelous are the works of your hands, Lord.

Moments like this bring me back to one morning when I was 19.  As I beheld the Grand Canyon for the first time.  The canyon appeared piece by piece in a tremendous pink and gold revealing at sunrise, and I had declared that day that it was the most spiritual experience of God in my 19 years.

Throughout my life, few things draw me to praise God and fill me with awe of the Creator like being surrounded by the beauty of his creation.  Whether it is the view from a mountain, a hawk in flight, a thundering waterfall, or a field of wildflowers, the natural world is the art of the Great Artist and a reminder that God is infinite and beautiful and powerful.

This summer, as I beheld the mountain view, I couldn't help but reflect on one truth, however.  Of all the amazing works of God's hands, one creation is set apart.  Only one creation is made in the image and likeness of God himself- human beings.  We bear His very image.

Why, then, do I stand in awe of God when beholding his mountains or oceans or sunrises,  yet I rarely stop to praise God when there is a person in front of me?  Why am I so slow to see the image of God that is imprinted on this very human God loves?  Shouldn't the magnitude of that truth stop me in my tracks and draw my heart to overflowing praise of the God who created them?  Maybe seeing the image of God in the human standing before us is where loving them begins.  Lord, let us see your image made visible.