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Deep Glory: How the Oceans Display the Glory of God, Part III

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The earth contains five oceans (the Arctic, the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian, and the Southern), all of which are designed to display the glory of God in a number of ways. Over the last two weeks I have highlighted the following features: (1) The oceans are massive and mysterious, inviting us to dive deep into the greatness and glory of who God is. (2) The oceans are marvels of engineering that display the genius of God, for their multiple systems (each of which is stunning in itself) not only create a habitable place for life but also regulate the entire atmosphere of the earth making it possible for all earthly life to have life. (3) The oceans are repositories of a mass of material resources displaying the riches of God. For example, they contain enough salt to cover all the land on the earth to a height of five-hundred feet and some twenty-million tons of gold! 

This week I’d like to highlight one more God-glorifying feature, namely, the earth’s oceans are a teeming with life both in terms of diversity and volume. It’s hard for us land-creatures to imagine this, but some ninety-percent of the earth’s habitable space is actually in the oceans and that space is being put to good use! For instance, the oceans are home to billions of plants and animals, everything from microscopic plankton to the giant blue whale which is the largest creature on earth. And with regard to animal life, the oceans house as many as one-million species, only two-thirds of which have been identified and described by human beings. 

If we were to take a sample of just ten-percent of the species known to us out of the ocean, we would be stunned by the diversity of their types, the diversity of their size, the diversity of their design, and the diversity of their relative complexity. And if we were to reflect on these things in light of the being and beauty of God, we would be amazed at his scientific genius, his creative capacities, his managerial powers, and his stunning ability to breathe life into whatever he wishes. Indeed, a gifted sculptor could fashion an image of most any creature in the sea, but she would have no power to make her sculpture live. O Beloved, let us not take for granted God’s ability to give life—it is truly stunning! 

I encourage you to join me in meditating on the ways in which the earth’s oceans display the glory of God, for as we glimpse in them something of the magnitude and mercy of God we will come to see and feel this truth deep within our hearts—if God is great and gracious enough to create and sustain the oceans and all that is in them, he’s great and gracious enough to guide us through every triumph and trial of this life. He’s great and gracious enough to fulfill all of his purposes in Christ for the glory of his name and the blessings of the nations.

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