Day 26

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul...” —PSALM 19:7

‘Natural Revelation’, which we looked at yesterday, while valid in itself, can give only very limited understanding of God. It tells us nothing about His character. We may conclude from observing the universe that God is powerful, but we cannot observe that He is good. We may observe in creation that God is intelligent, but we cannot observe God is kind. So how do we know if God is good? How do we know that God is kind?

If you lived next to a house that had a high-walled garden around it, you may not know who lives there. You see smoke coming out of the chimney from time to time, and occasionally hear music playing and a vehicle go and come. All of that is evidence you have a neighbor who lives next door, but none of that tells you anything about what kind of neighbor you have, whether he or she is kind or unkind, good or bad, young or old, even male or female.

Natural revelation in the wonders of creation may help us address the question: Is there someone there? But it doesn’t help us answer the question: What is He like? Is He in fact the Christian God or is He some other kind of god? Is He just powerful or is He good and kind as well? Is He just intelligent or does He have emotions? These questions we can only answer when there is some measure of self disclosure – that is, God tells us things about Himself. And this is where natural revelation must be supplemented with special revelation. God reveals things about Himself we can only know because He told us.

This is why we treasure the word of God. Psalm 19 tells us the heavens reveal the glory of God, and goes on to tell us the role of His word: “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the Lord are sure and altogether righteous” (Psalm 19:7-9). It is in the word of God we find truths about God that satisfy the soul and give joy to the heart.

PRAYER: Dear Heavenly Father, The Bible is the most precious book ever written and I cherish it. From beginning to end, it’s alive with your thoughts, your teachings and your story, which impacts us all. Thank You for revealing Yourself in your word and allowing us to come to know You better.

TO REFLECT UPON: How has reading the Bible and meditating on it enhanced my relationship with God?