God’s Copyright On Creation
Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due
Several years ago, I visited a college friend of mine who lived in Chicago.
One of the coolest things we did during that trip was to visit the famous Art Institute.
If you haven’t been there yet, it is huge 🙂
We saw so many exquisite art collections that day.
After walking around for hours, I wasn’t even tired.
My favorite memory was getting to see the works of Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and specifically my favorite, “The Two Sisters, On the Terrace.”
Here’s a picture of it for you to see . . .
The Two Sisters, on the Terrace” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
Trust me, there’s no comparison between the picture above, and the real painting.
The vivid reds of the older woman’s hat were striking to see in person.
It was hard to look away.
I remember thinking about the effort it took for the master artist to get just that right shade of eye-pleasing red.
Did you know that one of Renoir’s paintings sold at Sotheby’s for $78.1 million dollars?
Think about this for a minute — can you imagine the public backlash from M. Renoir if another artist had the gall to take credit for his work?
That would be a crime of theft, and rightfully so.
Likewise, in our context as thinking human beings, why would our Sovereign Lord, the Master Creator of the entire universe, share His glory with anyone or anything else?
He wouldn’t.
Man-exalted replacements are graven idols.
God’s copyright on creation is to be revered.
Idol worship robs God of the glory that is rightfully His, and that is something He will not tolerate. (Isaiah 42:8). – Got Questions Website.1
The Golden Calf
You might think that the golden calf of ancient Biblical history was melted down for good, and it was.
“That” particular calf was burned down to a powder, and later consumed as punishment for Israel’s wickedness.
But, idolatry still exists in our modern day.
Any “golden calves” we set up for worship other than the one true God makes God very angry.
We need to learn this and many other valuable lessons from the experience of the Israelites. The major and minor prophets warned God’s people time and time again to stop worshiping false gods.
But, as history unfolded, we read in Scripture that they didn’t always listen, to their own detriment.
God is both merciful and patient with us, more than we could ever deserve, but He won’t tolerate idolatry forever without judgment at the appointed time.
God’s Copyright on Creation
Consider the amazing and even the still-to-be-discovered wonders of God’s creation.
Here’s just one stunning example of why the ultimate Master Artist deserves all our praise – the recent Comet Neowise.
Comet Neowise
Comets have vapor trails up to 10,000 miles long. If you could capture all that vapor, and put it in a bottle, the amount of vapor actually present in the bottle would take up less than 1 cubic inch of space. – David Guzik, Christian pastor and author.3
Less than one cubic inch!
So, here’s my question: why would anyone risk their eternal life and happiness by insisting that there is more than one way to Heaven, than thru Jesus Christ alone?
This is such a serious question, but I fear many people aren’t taking it seriously.
Gratitude For the One Who Gave Us Life
Consider just one of the many excruciating details about Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross for yours and my sins.
Spikes about 7 inches long and 3/8 of an inch in diameter were driven into the wrists. – allaboutjesuschrist.org website.4
That horrific measurement is about the length of your wrist to the crook of your elbow.
Jesus suffered all of that for yours and my sins.
With that in mind, how could anyone even think of praying to anyone else?
Not surprisingly, even angels warned against it.
God is on His throne at this very moment.
The angels and the saints are worshiping Him forevermore and, at some glorious time in the future, by trusting in Jesus Christ alone, we will join them!
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Photo credits:
Renoir painting photo, “The Two Sisters On The Terrace” photo, courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, Created: 1881date QS:P571,+1881-00-00T00:00:00Z/9. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. Source Credit Line is the Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Larned Coburn Memorial Collection.
Comet Neowise photo, taken in Caliente, CA; July 2020. Courtesy of author, Jason Hullinger / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0).Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/amewzing/50122920178/. Accessed from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Comet_Neowise,_taken_in_Caliente,_CA;_July_2020.jpg
1 Quotation from gotquestions.org, from “What is the definition of Idolatry?” n.d., para. 3. Web. Accessed 29 July, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.gotquestions.org/idolatry-definition.html.
2 Scripture quotation is from New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.
3 Quotation from Christian pastor David Guzik. “Bible-Commentary/Collossians-1.” n.d., Web. Accessed July 29, 2020. Retrieved from https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/colossians-1/.
4 Quotation from allaboutjesuschrist.org, from “Crucifixion.” n.d., para. 3. Web. Accessed 29 July, 2020. Retrieved from https://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/crucifixion.htm
