This is sadly too true. When I find God in nature God is saying, “This is beautiful do you love it as much as I do?” And I have to think I appreciate the beauty but am I caring for creation the way God does. There is a sense that I am like God and a recognition of where I need to grow to be like God. I need to ask where is my place in nature and what am I allowed to take and what must I preserve. I am pushed to be thankful while recognizing that I am not in control and need to give ground to others and nature itself, because nature benefits God. Finding God in nature is about recognizing God’s presence and cultivating a desire within myself to gain more of that presence. I am humbled in nature and marvel at God’s grandeur, all the while recognizing that God is with me to grow more like God.
When I read Scripture I find God in a similar way. I am amazed at the depth of wisdom and beauty I find in its words. I routinely marvel at how I have not made connections between passages. I am amazed that I can spend years reading Scripture and pick up a familiar passage only to find God in a new way. I am forced to see my own failings in the failure of the characters. I see how stronger individuals than I are made weak. I see how wiser individuals than I are made foolish. I see how more spiritual individuals than I are distant from God. And I am forced to consider my own frailty and dependence on God. Reading Scripture helps me understand both where God is close to me and where I can improve that relationship. But Scripture also helps me understand where God is close to others and creation. Understanding where God is close to others, particularly those who I have difficulty with, helps me to understand how I can approach others more like God. In both cases nature and Scripture help me to find God while maintaining self-awareness. I see my flaws and potential flaws along with my glory as one of God’s image bearers. I see my place in God’s household and where I can do better at representing God’s household.
The temptation though is to loose track of this necessary humility. The temptation is to see myself as right or that I should not be inconvenienced. The temptation is to loose sight of the fact that nature and Scripture open me up to God precisely because they make me small next to God. But when I allow my own opinions to dominate I grow and God shrinks. No matter how right my opinions are when left to themselves they can diminish others in my sight. Even when I am objectively right and another is objectively wrong there is a temptation to say “I’m better because I’m right.” And this temptation is subtle. We begin thinking we are defending God, who needs no defense, and end defending ourselves. I am not trying to say we cannot have opinions, simply that opinions can be dangerous. Opinions can lead us to place ourselves in God’s position where our thoughts stand in for God’s. And the further we get from objective truth the greater this risk. I believe this is why so many like to throw around phrases like “the Bible says” or “scripture is clear” when the Bible does not “say” or Scripture is not clear. These and similar phrases are attempts to justify our opinions and give them stronger weight. We want to be speaking for God when all we are doing is providing our own interpretation of the Bible.
Humility in our speech can go a long way to helping relationships. Allowing ourselves to recognize that God is able to work through a kind heart and loving speech far more than in being right helps us approach others as God does. God gives grace for us to grow, to slowly come to know God. We can do the same for others in how we express our opinions. This is captured in Proverbs 18:21 where we are told that those who love their tongue (prone to speak) will taste the fruit of either life or death they speak. The idea is that we can speak for others’ benefit or for their downfall and we should choose wisely because we will eat that same fruit. When we find God in our opinions we find a god that often leads to death. This god is not looking to make us more like God rather it is a god that defines us by what we believe. This god is simply self-reinforcing. The Christian God is affirming of our worth as humans, but also reminds us of our limitations. It is a reminder to us that we need to find God in places that help us become self-aware and in ways that helps see what is outside of us.
Squinting in the Light 
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