I Can See!

(Genesis 1:25) “... And God saw that it was good.”

To be born blind would be tragic, but it would be devastating to lose ones sight, the thought of not being able to see a beautiful sunrise as its rays shimmer off the morning dew, with all its beauty endorsed by God’s signature, would for me be unbearable. We all are similar yet differ in the gifts God has given us through His universal grace. But sight most of us have. I am a photographer by profession and therefore always seem to look for images in and through whatever my eyes behold. A photograph has the opportunity of capturing an image never to be repeated, you may see a similar event, but it will never be exact. How often with camera in hand have I been in the “Great Timbavati” (land stretch that includes the Kruger National Park) and been at a hyena den with its pups playing freely for all to see and thought to myself tomorrow I will come back and get better pictures, and even if on the following day they were still there playing on the same anthill, everything would look different. The sun now on the east with the completion of my surroundings having a different look and feel, there is a window of opportunity for a photographer known as magic hour, it is the best time to take a picture but the window of opportunity does not last long. {So is it for all of God’s children when He speaks, “As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion."” (Hebrews 3:15)}

It is imperative to use that time well in order to outshine the opposition. It must not be taken for granted! So was it when I often planned a particular picture in my mind and got up long before sunrise with anticipation only to find the day overcast and the sun blocked by the clouds. This morning I am reminded how privileged I am to see and how thankful I am to God for my sight.

God is pleased with His ability to see and therefore blessed us with sight so that we can see the wonders of His works, which in turn exalts His name. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)

This was one of the intentions of creation, us glorifying God in and through His creation, but before long Satan hindered the minds of men. To think that evolution is believed by some is a disaster. “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” (Romans 1:21-23)

Have you ever really considered the power behind this statement, “and God saw that it was good.” It grips me this morning with freshness, let us consider the goodness of God but before we can understand His thoughtfulness we must have sight in order to see the truth behind this proclamation. We must understand that He created all things and see His brilliance through creation. But before we can do that we must consider the thinking behind His creation. We must see the change that He instituted.

Where we find, to our comfort, the first article of our creed, that God the Father Almighty is the Maker of heaven and earth, and the catalyst of His creation is through His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus, the Word! “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:3-4)

What amazes me in creation is what God used to create, He created from nothing. We all know that we need material in order to construct. We need a pen and paper to pen our thoughts, we need wood for fire and we need material in order to build a shelter, but not God! He created the heavens and the earth from nothing! Ponder this with me. How brilliant is our God! The world is a great house, consisting of upper and lower stories, the structure stately and magnificent, uniform and convenient, and every room well and wisely furnished. But as the earth has not only its surface adorned with grass and flowers, but also its bowels enriched with metals and precious stones, so the heavens are not only beautified to our eye with glorious lamps which garnish its outside. The Hebrew word of God is Elohim, which tells us that God is the powerful creator. The manner in which God worked His brilliance is He created it, that is, made it out of nothing. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void...” (Genesis 1:1-2)

There was not any pre-existent material out of which the world was produced. The fish and birds were indeed produced out of the waters and the beasts and man out of the earth; but that earth and waters were made out of nothing. By nature we are taught that it is impossible that anything should be made out of nothing; the potter cannot produce a vessel without clay. Yet with the almighty power of God it is not only possible that something should be made of nothing, but in the creation it is impossible to consider any alternative, for nothing is more harmful to the honour of the Eternal Mind than to worship the creature rather than the creator. The power is of God and all the glory is to Him and Him alone must we pay homage.

The majority of mankind has the ability to see, and yet it is often taken for granted. But ask a blind man to paint a sunset, it will be impossible for him to capture it as seen by those who can see. We must be able to see the work of His hands, not only in creation by more importantly in our own lives. We all love the sight of beautiful things. With those thoughts in mind let us now be ever more thankful for our new birth, not only do we see the majestic works of his hands through nature but now we can see spiritual things, we can see heaven in its glory and only because of the work of Calvary! Without His intervention in our lives through regeneration we would still be blind. Salvation is the work of God. Just as he alone was involved with His creation so too is it He alone who quickens the soul “dead in trespasses and sins,” and it is He also who maintains the soul in its spiritual life. He is both “Alpha and Omega.” “Salvation is of the Lord.” How great is our God and how greatly to be praised! I thank you Father for sending your son to die in my stead so that I may see, and not only do I thank you for my sight but for the sight for all who echo these word, “I can see”. That day was no different for all who have been born again from that day when a blind man receive his sight. “They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.” (John 9:13-14)

May we also fall to our knees today thanking our Father for sending His son, our beloved Saviour for paying the price for our sin so that we can now go free and see!

Signing off

Tyrone