“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
(Romans 5:1-2)
The Grand Canyon is a breathtaking natural wonder. Stretching some 216 miles across northern Arizona, the canyon averages 10 miles wide and a mile deep. It’s walls are comprised of beautifully coloured strata layers, each remarkably pure and distinct from one another. The standard explanation for the canyon is that the entire Colorado Plateau was once under water where sediment layers were slowly deposited, one on top of the other. After millions of years, the plateau rose out of the water where the sediments hardened into rock. Over millions of years, the whole process repeated itself multiple times. Finally, the Colorado River began to stream across the plateau, cutting down deep into the rock as it headed westward. Details regarding energy, forces, and mechanisms aren’t mentioned. The creationist explanation makes much more sense. The waters of the year-long Genesis flood deposited sediments in horizontal layers. After the flood, huge lakes breached their dams and their waters flowed westward, catastrophically carving the canyon as they cut down into the pile of unconsolidated sediments. This explains why the Colorado River has no delta, and why the river runs straight through a 7,000 foot mountain known as the Kaibab Upwarp (rivers normally flow around such things!). In any case, the Bible speaks of an infinitely greater canyon, a chasm between God and man created by man’s sin. “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God,” said the great prophet Isaiah, “and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). This chasm was far too wide for any human to cross. We would have been forever estranged from God if not for the precious redemptive work of Jesus. Praise be to God who regarded the lowly state of man. In the Person of His beloved Son, He bridged the chasm between the Holy Creator and His fallen creation. The blessed God-man has reconciled us to Himself by the blood of the cross (Ephesians 2:13-17). As our thoughts return to the Grand Canyon, we are reminded that, as beautiful as it is, it is really the wreckage of a world judged by God. If the wreckage is this beautiful, how beautiful must God’s original “very good” world must have been (Genesis 1:31)! Even so, we are assured that God’s New Heavens and Earth will be infinitely more impressive (Revelation 21-22). Its citizens will not only be innocent, they will be righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21). They will not only be perfect, they will be glorified (1 Corinthians 15:43). May we love, honour, and serve the blessed God Who has promised us such things!
God bless,
Pastor John
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