"Islands in the Sky"

by Kirby Williams

Text: Proverbs 1:7
Date: 12/10/2009.
Series: "Proverbs" Part 7

I'm not particularly fond of heights. I wouldn't say I have a fear of heights, but I'm not really comfortable when I'm near a cliff, or a drop-off, or on top of a tall building. I think it is more the sensation of falling that seems to grip me when I'm close to a precipice. But for whatever reason, I tend to be very careful when I'm "close to the edge".

There's a beautiful national park in southern Utah named Canyonlands, where the Colorado and Green rivers have cut stunning canyons in the soft sandstone floor of the desert. Geologists tell me that the canyons were created by erosion caused by the arbitrary wanderings of the water over millions of years. But I'm not so sure. I remember standing there, in awe, and imagining the pleasure it must have given God to sculpt those canyons. Whether He did it in one calendar day, or over eons, I think is largely an irrelevant quarrel, (apart from what it says about our faith in God's power). The important thing is not HOW He created the canyons, or HOW LONG it took Him. The important thing is that He DID create them-- "ex nihilo", out of nothing! In His ultimate revelation to mankind (the Bible), it seems clear to me that He represents the event as occurring within the time span of a single 24 hour day. Whether He actually did or not, I cannot tell you for certain--God is outside of time, and I wasn't there when He did it! I am, however, asked to believe (with all my heart) that God is powerful enough to have created the cosmos in a single day. As I have often shared. I think (along with St. Augustine and others) that the great question of Creation is not whether God created the cosmos in 6 calendar days, but why He took so long! Why not just a word, and all things were created? Why did He drag it out? There must have been a good reason. But, I digress.

Back to the Canyonlands. Kaye, Annie, Ashley, and I went there on a trip several years ago. We were all overwhelmed with the beauty of the natural formations. We stopped at a particularly stunning overlook which was a precarious-looking outcrop of rock that jutted out over the canyon floor, giving the brave traveler a magnificent panoramic view. The name of this part of the park was, "Islands in the Sky", and this certainly lived up to the name--a little island of rock seemingly suspended above a spectacular 1,000 foot drop to the meandering river below.

So... what to do? The view from the parking lot was also magnificent, and I could see just fine. The part of me that is not fond of heights was quite willing to stay where I was and not venture close to the edge. But the prospect of a better view, of seeing the Canyonlands in all of it's beauty, of watching as the sun's rays played over the multi-colored sandstone as it set over the desert, was more than I could resist. So we all swallowed our fear and somewhat timidly inched slowly towards the very edge of the canyon. We were ever-aware of the danger involved, but irresistibly drawn to the closest communion we could achieve with the beauty around us. The sunset was amazing.

Prov. 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge... -ESV

The tension we felt between the fear of falling and the irresistible attraction to the beauty of the view, is exactly what Solomon is referring to when he uses the word, "fear" in Proverbs 1:7. The word speaks of a healthy fear and reverence of an all-powerful and holy God, who is perfect in His righteousness and cannot abide the sin of His Creation. It is the fear of Someone we know can hurt us, can judge us, and can send our souls to Hell. Not a pleasant thought, but consistent with Scripture's teaching about God. This said, it does not refer to terror of someone or something that simply scares us, but rather a "healthy" fear, a reverence, a true understanding and respect of the Power with which we are dealing.

But at the same time the word speaks of an irresistible attraction to His glory and awesomeness. We want to know more about Him, we want to be reconciled to Him, we want to be loved by Him--we want to be close to Him. Because of this, we are drawn to His presence so we can truly get a glimpse of His magnificent beauty.

So just as Kaye and the girls and I slowly inched our way close to the edge of the cliff in Canyonlands, we likewise inch closer to God--with reverence, fear and awe, so that we might behold His glory, His beauty and His magnificence. This is truly the beginning of knowledge!

May God bless you.

-pastor kirby