“God saw all that He had made, and it was very good…” – Genesis 1:31a
My wife, Sarah, and I celebrated our 15-year anniversary this summer and were able to take a week-long trip to Pittsburgh, PA. We coordinated childcare with grandparents, planned our trip, and headed out of town to enjoy a new city and new experiences. We watched a Pirates baseball game, rode both iconic inclines allowing for a beautiful overlook of the city, crossed the many bridges known to the city, stood at the pinnacle where the Ohio River begins, walked the historic Strip District which is 5-blocks of markets, shops, bakeries, and restaurants representing a multitude of cultures and nationalities, and enjoyed a concert at an open-air pavilion. We had a great time as we experienced these things for the first time.
This trip also allowed for unique opportunities to interact and meet new people. Now, I must admit I am naturally introverted, however I enjoy meeting new people, asking questions, and really learning who they are and what they value. In personal evangelism, I oftentimes use questions to get to a point where I can better understand someone’s worldview with the hopes of progressing the conversation to the sharing of the gospel. While in Pittsburgh, I had a couple of opportunities to engage in dialogue with different individuals in different spaces of life. I’d like to share one such conversation and how it reminded me of the goodness of God in creation and His grace to us as the pinnacle of His creation.
One day Sarah and I swung into a coffee shop to grab a cup of coffee while we were heading to our next destination. We pulled into the drive thru and the person taking our order came over the intercom and, in a moment of humorous, unintentional wordplay, said, “Good morning, what can I get me today?” I was able to save face because I did not want to embarrass this gentleman but when we came up to the window he (and the other workers) were clearly laughing about it and he said, “I’m sorry. I’m getting ready to start grad school and I’m incredibly tired.”
We had a good laugh, but his grad school comment opened the door for me to inquire. So, I asked where he was studying (Duquesne) and then, of course, what was he studying. He responded and said, “metaphilosophy.” Now, I have no shame to admit this, I had no idea what he meant by metaphilosophy. So, I told him as much and asked if he could explain it as there was not yet anyone behind us in the drive thru line. He, in a moment, leans out of the window, points to an object outside, and simply said, “what I am focusing on is that there is actually beauty in the object.”
Then he followed with something that has stuck with me since, “It is not just something made up of a bunch of atoms. But … my view is not popular within philosophy these days.” Wow. I wanted to take that conversation so much further! But, the line behind us formed extensively and I did not want to cause hardship for him on his job. We shook hands, said nice to meet you and enjoyed the conversation, and moved on about the day, though Sarah and I did return a couple hours later to see if he was there to further the conversation, but unfortunately, he was not.
As I have thought about that brief interaction numerous times since we have returned, I cannot help but hope that this individual truly understands what, or really about whom, he was commenting. Yes! There is indeed beauty in the object. Yes! Created things are more than just a bunch of atoms. And, unfortunately, Yes! This view is not common in today’s cultural thought.
I read Genesis 1 to my children at the dinner table recently and continue to be awestruck by the simplicity in which God created and yet the significance of His creation in our Christian worldview. But more than just the act of creation itself, I am astounded that we, as human beings, are the pinnacle of creation and find great comfort in knowing that God looked upon all that He created and “it was good.”
But, we know the story, that which was good was good no more due to the sin of one man (Romans 5:12). The beauty, in some sense, was lost. The Bible is clear that those who do not put their faith and trust in the exclusivity of the gospel of Jesus Christ are dead in their sins and trespasses (Ephesians 2:1) and are destined to an eternity separated from God in a place called Hell. We rejoice in the Good News that He took Him who had no sin to become sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). John Piper famously states, “Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” My prayer is that we are motivated for missions by the fact that as we look upon a lost and dying world, we remember that God’s beauty is in His creation, with humanity being the pinnacle, and thus worthy of all our efforts to bring the Good News.
As this barista in Pittsburgh said, there is beauty in the object … it is not just a bunch of atoms.
Leave a Reply