DEVOTION – DAY 357

Romans 1:19-21 “God Is Evident”

Romans 1:19-21 “Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God, nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

There are people who can say they have never heard of the Bible or about Jesus Christ. This is true even up till the 21st Century where certain remote communities can rightfully claim ignorance about the Bible and about Jesus. But no one, throughout history have a valid excuse to say they do not know there is God because all creation bears testimony to His existence. That is what the above passage teaches us. What is known about God is plain for everyone to see.

We look up at the sky and we see a formation of birds. We walk along the seashore and marvel at what the tide deposits onto the sands. We see tiny seashells, small crabs and so on. We hold up a leaf and inspect it. We can see patterns etched on the leaf. And every tree species has a different leaf type. We see a rainbow after a brief rain-shower and we marvel at the brief beauty of it. All these images are just things we take for granted, but they all bear evidence of God, the Creator of everything. His eternal power and divine nature have created the world we live in. We can clearly see the nature that surrounds us that tells us that there is a Creator. It did not happen by accident or by chance. God made the world in this way. God made human beings – people like you and I. So, people have no excuse to say they do not know there is God. People choose to ignore God. They neither glorified Him, nor gave His thanks. Romans 1:19-21 confirms this.

The people in Nagaland, Northeast India, were originally animist and folk religion based. As they were predominantly farmers, the people were very observant about nature that surrounded them. But instead of worshipping the Creator God, they ended up worshipping the creation, the sun, the moon, the winds and so on. But in 1836, the neighboring Assam Baptist Mission sent missionaries to Nagaland. Through these missionaries, the entire state of Nagaland was eventually converted. The missionaries redirected the people to focus on the Creator God. Today, the state of Nagaland is almost entirely Baptist.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we worship you as our Almighty Creator. We continue to pray that people will turn to you as the true Living God, and not worship created things. We pray in the powerful name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. What are some ways that you see God reveal Himself to us through the nature surrounding us? Share.
  2. How does evidence of God’s presence touch your soul? Share.
  3. Despite God’s evident imprint all around us, why do people choose to ignore God’s presence and existence? Discuss.
  4. How can you help someone know about the Lord Jesus today?