“The whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah 6:3b

While sitting on a cliff overlooking Lake Ontario, one of North America’s Great Lakes, the sunset was gorgeous and a group of us were enjoying the calming, relaxing show of a multicolored display. The blue, red, orange, and yellow hues mixed against the darkening sky; the blushing of colors blended and transitioned by the second. The clouds were positioned on the horizon just right, and the earth was begging a symphony of praise to the matchless Master Artist. Astonishing

As we jockeyed for the best vantage points for front-row, 50-yard line seating, I was the last to stake out my place in the natural living grandstand. Finding a large tree intrusively affecting my otherwise perfect view, I moved my lawn chair over a few feet. Now the picture was framed slightly differently, displaying subtly different tones.

Several attempts found me at the best viewing spot, settling in for the time-lapse, ever-changing demonstration in front of me. Reaching for my camera, I caught a photo of the unfolding live-action movie, then continued taking multiple stills to seize each succeeding frame in view. A snapshot couldn’t possibly capture the astounding beauty of what we were watching, no matter how good the photographer. No artist can render the continuously changing beauty of a sunset on a canvas, but only one particular look from one precise vantage point and through one specific set of eyes—and only in two dimensions. And even then, the coloring only approximates the real thing.

The Master Artist animated this painting in three-dimensional space and through time. This was not coming at 60 frames per second (60 Hz), the typical display of many large screen televisions today, nor even at 120 Hz. Like the movement of the hour hand on an analog watch is undetectable in the moment, its progression around the dial is nonetheless smooth and continuous. So also, the eye cannot detect the granular change of the sunset, though it indeed changes, as sure as the hour hand moves. Our eyes cannot take it all in but what we do see is astounding.

While watching from the cliff by the lake, I was observing only a microscopic perspective of the entire spectacle. If I were sitting a hundred yards to the right, the image at that exact moment would curiously be different, with the reflections on the clouds and water portraying a different view (of course, I cannot be sitting in multiple places at the same time, but you get the picture). If I moved forward 10 miles toward the setting sun, the sky would be lighter; if I moved back, the sky would be darker—and the colors would be different. If the vantage point had no water in sight, everything would change with a different kind of beauty. If seeing the sunset through the smog of a city, there would be an eerie, other-worldly sort of beauty. From some viewing positions, the sky would look inflamed with red; from other places, pastel blue and pink would infuse the sky. And then consider that scanning the sky in a continuous 360 view, the colors multiply—truly an expanding, visual masterpiece.

No one person or even multitude of people viewing from a thousand points could enjoy all the infinitely small but continuous gradations of the sun’s glory. But God, being omnipresent as the Bible teaches, is fully aware of all that and much more. He sees it all, at the same time, from the entirety of all perspectives—like a four-dimensional, omnipresent observer.

Consider further all around the world, the sun impacts everything with its radiance, even at night in the reflection of the moon in its various positions on the horizon, the lighting of the clouds at pre-dawn and post-sunset, and the final glow that speeds through the darkness to the awakening light on the other side of the sky. Add in the sun’s reflection off mirrors or shiny surfaces, and how can we not be more and more amazed?

We haven’t even talked about the variations that come from selectively observing specific colors through the natural lens of our eyes, the visual filters of the photographer, or the artist’s acute perception. Have we now expanded our understanding of the angels’ proclamation that the whole earth is full of His glory? Each moment and every perspective is a new experience of God’s artistry.

Yet, God’s glory is much greater than what can be perceived in the natural phenomena of the sun. What about His glory in the smile of a newborn baby, the touch of an encouraging hand, a cold drink offered to the thirsty, helping the sick, shut-in and imprisoned, or showing grace in response to an offense? Each can be seen and experienced from many vantage points and at different times through their movements through time and space. For example, in the act of encouraging, there is the perception of the encourager and the person being encouraged; the feeling of being used by God to encourage someone and being the recipient of God using someone else to encourage. Yes, the angels were right. The whole earth is full of His glory!

So where does the human artist come in? Can he even hope to capture any of it? The answer is yes. God’s glory in Scripture is often portrayed as blinding light; an artist is like a prism that diffuses light into observable colors. The photographer captures a perspective of God’s glory in creation, bringing to the rest of us an amazing view of the scene as God reveals to him. This personal rendition is very much as glorious, nonetheless because of its subjective nature, as what is seen by the human eye. All our human views of the sunset are subjective because we all bring our personal perspectives to the grandstand. The artist simply records his understanding of it. The Lord sees the views of every painter who captures that same sunset on canvas—and that is part of the revelation of His creation. He notices every photo captured by gifted photographers who creatively orchestrate the view angle, lighting, and filtering with colored lenses. These images are already there in the scene, all of God’s glory that fills the earth. The artist and photographer give us a peek from a different vantage point.

Likewise, the poet, composer, musician and singer, playwright and storyteller, novelist and humorist, lecturer, and comedian capture the glory of God in many variations. The graphic designer, software coder, shuttle bus driver, teacher, preacher, missionary, and child-care worker all reflect God, who created order out of chaos and gave everything meaning and purpose. Yes, the whole earth is full of His glory in all its beauty and magnificence.