For a moment, put on your science seat belts with me.
Our eyes have things called cones. Cones enable us to see color and non-color blind people have three cones in their eyes. Those amongst us who are blessed by color blindness have only two cones. Therefore, I am physically limited, handicapped, if you will, in the colors that I see. (So I park in handicap parking spots with color blindness as my ailment...just kidding.) I literally can't see as many colors as most people.
Color is one of the most basic things to our lives, or so it seems.
This week, the first week of The Story, we focus on creation. In The Summit, we focused on God's creation by talking and learning about color.
While I have two color-receptive cones and you likely have three color-receptive cones, there are some animals that have more cones than we do and can therefore see colors that we can't! We probably can't even imagine what they see, like I can't imagine what you see. That got me thinking. Are there colors that we can't see that are out there, even those amongst us have three cones?! (Of course there are.)
Some animals can see more than us. Sparrows, apparently, can see more. Butterflies see even more than sparrows, though. They have five cones in their eyes! Butterflies are good at seeing color, but they're only in second place in the (known) animal kingdom. One creature is superior. It is the glorious MANTIS SHRIMP. They have SIXTEEN color-receptive cones.
These animals, especially the mantis shrimp, can see far more colors than we can. What does this teach us about God and his creation?
God's creation is gigantic, massive, great. It is beyond anything we can understand or imagine. This place, this universe, that he has made, is so much more than we could ever ask or imagine because we literally can't imagine it. I can't even imagine what people who have three cones see, and if there are colors that we can't see but that exist, then what else of God are we not perceiving?
I hope this is helping us all to think about how unimaginably great our God is. He has created us, the universe, animals, and color. We get to experience his creation, and it is wonderful. From mountains, to rivers, to flowers, to outer space, to crazy shrimp, God's creation is wonderful.
One day, I think, God's creation in its entirety, will be revealed to us. So, I look forward to when I will be able to see color as a non-color-blind person, and even more, as the mantis shrimp sees color, and even more, as God sees color.
Our future existence in heaven, which we long for when our King takes us there, can be described like this from Revelation 21:
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
Our King will come and bring us into a greater place, a place that can only be described by being completely with our King and Creator. My color blindness will one day be healed, and it won't be because of any super-surgery I will have, the cure will be, rather, being in total, unaltered community with the Creator.
I pray that this simply encourages you to think about the greatness of his creation that we can't even see. Our God is great and even greater than we can know as we know him now. His Creation is marvelous.
For extra color information, check out some of these links:
Ezekiel 48:35
The name of that city shall be "THE LORD IS THERE."
We long for that true city.
In His Majesty's Service,
Speed
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