Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise, in the city of God, his holy mountains.  It is beautiful in his loftiness, the joy of the whole earth!                            Psalm 48:1

A few years ago during a pastoral sabbatical, I took one of our sons to a horse ranch in the Crazy Mountains of Montana for a week. Other guests at the ranch had come to enjoy the horses and the mountains from as far away as Scotland, Norway, Germany, Denmark and  Switzerland 

The first night at the ranch I met Per, a brilliant journalist from Denmark. When he heard I was a pastor, he immediately declared himself to be a “practicing atheist”. Yet as the week went on, Per asked me several philosophical and theological questions about God, the church, and the Christian faith that had been weighing on him for quite some time.

One afternoon Per, a couple Germans, and I took a long ride to the top of a mountain ridge. The scene was breathtaking and we were all in awe of the incredible beauty! Per got off his horse, put his hands up into the air, and began walking back and forth  laughing and yelling in jubilation. He told us this was an experience he had always dreamed about (riding a horse to the top of a mountain) and yet, it had far surpassed his expectations!

I told him, “Per, if I didn’t know better I would say you were praising God the Creator up here”, and without missing a beat he answered, “Yes Father, (pastor) with this kind of beauty and wonder I think I am!” It was a telling moment for all of us, that even a practicing atheist    couldn’t help but be moved by God and acknowledge his handiwork in the great outdoors! Common sense tells us the beauty of this creation is no accident or coincidence, but rather the work of a skilled and loving Creator.  If even a professing atheist can acknowledge this, maybe we should too!

Prayer: Our Gracious and Wonderful Creator, we thank you for your incredible artwork around us that takes our breath away! May we continue to appreciate your beauty, wonder, and might and give you the praise that you so richly deserve.  Amen!