God will often speak to us and teach us spiritual things through natural things He has created and also through circumstances He places us into. The following is a recent example which occurred when we were visiting a farm. We were attending a barbecue as part of a reunion in Queensland, Australia and a group of about ten of us were outside talking and admiring a sunset. We were all looking at the sky above a house which we were only ten feet away from. I noticed that one person had gone off alone to the side of the house and was looking at the sunset from there. I realised that of course the view would be much better from there, away from the house, so I decided to go and look at it from there too.

When I got there I saw that the view was far more spectacular and beautiful than from where I had been viewing it from, so I called out to the other people to come and see. But nobody heard me, even though I was only a few feet away from them, everybody was busy talking to each other. So I called again, louder this time and as I did so, I felt God impressing upon me that I was to pay close attention to what was happening because He was going to teach and show me something important through it.

Again, although I had called louder, nobody heard or paid any attention to me. So I decided to try calling a person by their name. This person heard and responded and came over. She too saw how much better the view was with the house out of the way and she then called some others who came over and appreciated the much-expanded view.

What God showed me later was that the whole scenario is symbolic of what He has done and is doing with us. Initially we saw some of the glory of the heavens but could only see it in part because a man-made structure (house) was very effectively blocking a good deal of our view of what was above.

Not many (only two of us) had realised that there was more to be seen of the glorious sunset. When we moved position and got the house out of our focus, we saw the fuller picture of the glory of the sunset! We saw different colours and shades of colour that could not be seen before, we saw it in all the glory of GOD’S creation instead of man’s creation blocking our view. His creation is diverse, creative and organic, like a large tree which was silhouetted against the sunset. The tree wasn’t blocking the view because it could be seen through and only added to the beauty of the picture instead of blocking it. In His creation God’s unspoken truth is spoken everywhere!

Here is a photo I took of the sunset which of course doesn’t do it justice but is still a reminder: The heavens are telling the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. (Psalm 19:1).

The house that was blocking our view represents man-made churches. The farm house was made of bricks, which are not the living stones that God builds with; bricks are made by man for conformity, each one the same so WE can fit them together easily and build with them. It is man’s way and not God’s, it is the way of the world and Babylon. The tower of Babel was built with bricks, but the new Jerusalem is built from “living” stones – otherwise known as jewels (1 Peter 2:5; Isaiah 54:11,12; Rev. 21:11,18,19). If we are bricks instead of living jewels, we will be earthly and conformed to one another instead of being heavenly and transformed into the image of God.

Only God can shape jewels that transmit His Light and Glory, He has created them and has shaped them for His purposes. He creates them to be fitted together and places them beside other living stones exactly where He knows they belong in His spiritual “House” which HE is building. “We have from God a building, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1).

Above the house we had seen some of the effects of the Son – some colours in the heavenlies – but we did not see the fuller picture of the Son or the heavenlies in their splendour and glory until we had made moved position. The structure made with man-made materials was very effectively obstructing the more excellent view. The glory of the heavenlies was encroached upon by the building. Obviously the house was not going to move so that more of the glory of the heavenlies was revealed, and bricks, unlike jewels, are not transparent so the glory could not be seen through them. It required those who heard the call to adjust themselves and move position so that they could see more.

God called us away from the man-made structures of organised religion because He had something more and different that He wanted us to see and be part of. It was not until I saw more of the glory of the Son that I realised what we had been missing out on when the man-made house had blocked our view! I called out to the others to come on over so they too could share in and enjoy God’s glory and see the fuller and more glorious picture. They were too busy with each other to hear.

Those who were inside the house were completely oblivious to what they were missing outside of it; artificial lights were switched on instead and they knew nothing of the sunset. Those already outside the building had to have eyes to see and ears to hear in order to move, but not many want to hear or see, let alone move position…. Unfortunately we are often too preoccupied with what is immediately in front of us and are too busy talking and listening to one another and so cannot hear or see anything else or even comprehend that God may have more to reveal to us. Sometimes it will be only one or two that will hear and see and their hearing may be because of our personal relationship with them as opposed to preaching/calling to the masses.

“If our Message is obscure to anyone, it’s not because we’re holding back in any way. No, it’s because these other people are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to give it serious attention. All they have eyes for is the fashionable god of darkness. They think he can give them what they want, and that they won’t have to bother believing a Truth they can’t see. They’re stone-blind to the dayspring brightness of the Message that shines with Christ, who gives us the best picture of God we’ll ever get. Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we’re proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, “Light up the darkness!” and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-6).

Whatever we are most occupied with becomes the thing which veils our eyes because it is right in front of us. It is our primary focus and consequently blinds us to anything else. When we see the Son and He is our focus and is the One Thing that occupies us, then our eyes are progressively opened as He unveils and reveals more and more of Himself and His glory to us. And this unveiling and revealing of Himself in all His glory is going to go on throughout eternity!

I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Omnipotent Himself and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon to give light to it, for the splendor and radiance and glory of God illuminate it and the Lamb is its lamp. And there shall be no more night; they have no need for lamplight or sunlight, for the Lord God will illuminate them and be their light, and they shall reign forever and ever. Revelation 21:22,23 22:5