As I stared into the incredible Grand Canyon last week, and as the vertigo swirled over me, I felt incredible small. The immensity of the hole and the myriad colors and textures is overwhelming. Then, as I read the interpretive signs along the Rim Trail, I gained a deeper sense of why I felt that way. The rock we saw was over a billion years old, the canyon about 70 million. Markers along the trail indicated that each step equaled a million years…and as we walked it was like walking back into time. It was beautiful for sure--but also a spiritual experience.

Clearly God is an immense God to create such places. Clearly the mechanics of sedimentation and volcanos and erosion work wonders in our natural world. To view evidence of all these natural processes is absolutely awesome.

And then we hear Psalm 8.

 O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.
     Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
    to silence the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
    mortals that you care for them?

Yet you have made them a little lower than God
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
    you have put all things under their feet,
all sheep and oxen,
    and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
    whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

The Creator of the Grand Canyon notices me--little speck that I am. Our amazing God of billions of years and immense spaces also cares for humans. Yes, it is a spiritual experience.

Then there is Jesus. Consider what he says about each of us  in Matthew 6: Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Or in Matthew 10:  … even the hairs of your head are all counted (by God).

I can’t comprehend how it all works, but I trust that it is true. If God can create this amazing world and raise Jesus from the dead, then I believe what Jesus says about God’s love for me.

That’s the Good News, folks. It’s at the center of our faith. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

– Rolf Olson, Visitation Pastor

Prayer

Creator of all, trying to understand your creation is overwhelming. All we can do is stand in awe and praise you. But that you love us and came in Jesus to show it leaves us speechless. May our silence in your presence be honored as prayer because our words are so inadequate. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Amen.