I can’t say that I ever thought signing up for the World Race would bring me to the top of the volcano Acotenango at sunrise looking out at not only the country of Guatemala, but also El Salvador, and the Pacific Ocean. Not to mention have the opportunity to sit around at our campsite on the side of this volcano watching a neighboring volcano, Fuego, erupt and so many other amazing experiences that were all stuffed into one 24 hour period of time.
But it’s not this crazy opportunity that amazes me. I knew coming into the race that I would get the chance to do some incredible things that I will remember for the rest of my life, but I didn’t expect God to show up like he did. I didn’t expect to see all of his creation in such an inspiring way. I knew that this would be beautiful, I knew it would take my breath away (sometimes literally because of the actual hiking portion of this adventure), and I knew that I would be in awe of the power and might of our absolutely amazing and creative God. None of these things were a surprise to me because I have experienced it here before, but also back at home. But there is something else that God made so clear to me at the top of that volcano and it is something that I never want to see in the same way.
At the top of Acotenango as we were watching the sun rise from behind yet another neighboring volcano, Agua, Maggie looks over at me and repeats something that Abby Nass often talks about. She looked at me and then looked at this amazing sky that was painted with a crazy amount of colors and says
“Isn’t amazing that when God created the world he looked at all of this and only said that it is good, and then he created us and said that we are very good.”
It was then that those words finally made sense. Sitting in our house here in San Pedro and saying that God thinks we are more beautiful than the mountains or the sunrise is easy because they’re not right in front of us. It’s not until you have a breathtaking picture of God’s creation right in front of your face that those words truly hit home and mean something significant, or at least that’s how it was for me.
We, sinners who are so broken, disobedient, and blinded by the evil in this world, are more beautiful in God’s eyes than a sky that looks like a beautiful watercolor painting of a rainbow that all blends together in the perfect way filled to the left with clouds that look like waves rolling over a waterfall and then suddenly disappearing to reveal the volcanoes, valleys, cities, and the lake below. We are more beautiful and precious in God’s eyes than anything else here on earth and we often don’t really understand what that truly means.
No matter what is that is before our eyes and no matter how stunning it may be, God still thinks we are better and more beautiful than it all. He sees all that he has created, he sees the mountains, the forests, the oceans, and the sunsets and says that they’re just good. These absolutely stunning parts of creation are nothing compared to us because we are more than just good, we are very good. We are created in the image of God and we are very good.
It’s crazy to think about, but at the same time once it really sinks that we are more beautiful than anything else on earth it is enough to make me speechless. God is so amazing and creative and delights so much in us! We are made in his image and we are absolutely breathtaking to the creator of the universe!
