And God Gave Us… Math!!

As Christians, our normal focus is on the special revelation of God. That is, the gospel message. We understand that no one can come to the Father except by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord. General revelation, the way God reveals Himself in creation, bears witness to God, but it does not save. Of the two, special revelation gives us meaning and purpose as we are to take this message to everyone. We are to bear witness of the way God has made for us to be reconciled to Him.

So, what about general revelation? What role does general revelation play in the life of a Christian? The same as the non-believer: it shows us who God is.

Over the past few weeks, the high school Sunday school class has working through Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition: The Liberal Arts. After coming across this sentence, I had to modify the way I think about general revelation: “General revelation is a theological mandate to learn the world’s broad secrets as a specific opportunity to learn about its Creator.”

I had always and only thought of general revelation in terms of how it falls short of special revelation. How it cannot save. Inherently, I would honor God for a beautiful sunrise, or a long steady rain. But I did not consider how these things help me understand who God is better. Now I understand that understanding the creation gives us insights into the creator. Consider the wonder and order we find in nature. So many different creatures and environments coming together in a circle of life. Every creature has its place and purpose. Life is beautiful and varied. And we have one Creator to thank for it all.

But it does not stop there. Our lesson took us to one of the most incredible revelations of God…math. Can you feel the excitement! Math! It’s awesome!

Yeah, probably not the response of most people. However, consider the fact that math is discovered, not created. Mathematical proofs provide a stable basis for the scientific method and even for Christian apologetics. The deeper we dive into math, the more incredibly complex we understand the mind of our Creator to be. God created and put into place all the laws of math, science, and nature. He is the source that makes it all work.

This knowledge does not supersede the Bible in any way. It bears witness to the truth we find in the pages of the Bible. We serve a wondrous Creator who has no equal. He is worthy of our worship and our praise. He is greater than all of our struggles. Don’t miss the opportunity to know Him better by glossing over the simple truths in our lives that we take for granted. It all comes from Him, and He is worthy of praise for it.