| “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” |
| —Psalm 19:1 KJV |
I so much appreciate “handiwork.” From her youth onward, my grandmother had the reputation as a particularly fine seamstress. I own a dress she made for a toddler with the tiniest handmade button holes. Today, I admire her talent more than a hundred years after she first produced this amazing dress.
My nephew has a business carving and painting all kinds of colorful wooden lures for salt water anglers. No one would doubt his talented handiwork. He has become someone who now has a national reputation as a fine craftsman.
My late sister painted large murals, crafted thousands of words of pen and ink calligraphy, and, with a dainty hand in the tradition of our grandmother, sewed many pillows and articles of clothing decorated with buttons and ribbons.
Considering those individuals to whom God has given uniue talent, in the Early Church a disciple of Jesus, a woman named Dorcas, became sick and died. Acts 9:39 records this sentence:
All the widows stood around him [Peter], crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.
This passage of Scripture demonstrates to me that, just as everywhere and at all times God reveals His handiwork through the marvelous creation of our universe, He has also created humankind in His image with the same abilities to create amazing items for themselves. Creation, and all kinds of art, did not just happen for the utilitarian needs of humans. God gave humans this ability, so that they could create beauty.
Just as God looked at His creation and exclaimed that what He had made was good (Genesis 1), He has allowed us the joy of creating, too. Besides that, He enables us to feel enjoyment in the handiwork of others. In so doing, we derive pleasure and can offer praise in the revelation of Himself that we see in human creativity.
Psalm 8 tells us that God has set His glory above the heavens. God reveals His inherent glory. A few verses later, the Psalmist writes that God has crowned man with glory. Our glory derives from His glory. Every creature shows the glory of the Creator in some way. The more we know this great Creator-God, the more beautiful and glorious we become, as His image bearers.
Let us thank God today for the ways in which His glory, His creative beauty, and His magnificent design, shows forth in our lives and in the lives of those we know. All of this handiwork should prompt us to offer our praise and worship to such a breathtakingly glorious God.
