Christ in Creation

Saint Columbanus of ancient Ireland wrote “Understand, if you want to know the creator, created things.” His point was that if we revel in the beauty of God’s creation, we come closer to knowing God himself. In my last message at the Open Door back in Advent we talked about God as the artist and creation as his masterpiece. Like any great artist’s work, if you listen to it, study it, gaze upon it, you will come to know something of it’s composer or its painter or poet. I don’t believe this is the only way or even the primary way of knowing God, but I do believe it is a legitimate and important way.

This subject brings up the question of general revelation. Anyone can experience creation and therefor experience something of God. Is that 'something of God' that they experience Jesus Christ? Where does Jesus fit into the picture? It seems to me that it is Jesus who is being revealed through the creation, but it also seems that a form of the "Word" is God's primary way of bringing full revelation of himself to those who do not yet know Christ as savior.

I love the idea that we, as Christians, can know Christ better by experiencing that which he created. I think that's the main point of the Celts. To those whom Christ has revealed himself through his Word, Christ is making himself more fully know through all aspects of this created world.