God of the Snowflakes -- FPC sermon excerpt
Wilson Alwyn Bentley was flaky.
But not in a bad way.
He lived in Vermont, and was fascinated by snow. Loving it so much, he found a way to put snowflakes on black velvet and photograph them, testing the belief that no two are exactly the same. He photographed and published over 5,000 individual snowflakes, and you can see his work today at the Bentley Snow Crystal Collection of the Buffalo Museum of Science.
Because of his obsession, Bentley was given a nickname — “Snowflake.”
No surprise there.
Bentley examined snowflakes under a microscope and discovered that they were all miracles of beauty. “Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated,” he wrote. “When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind.”
Looking at the Bentley Snow Crystal Collection, an observer named Morgan Meis found that he was especially fond of snowflake number 892. Roughly stellar in category, this one is a bit irregular — its top left arm does not have a cap like the other five.
Irregular, but beautiful.
I don’t think that Wilson Alwyn Bentley is the only person who should be given the nickname “Snowflake” — we all should. Each of us is a miracle of beauty, a masterpiece of design, and no one design is ever repeated. Are we irregular? Of course! I am, and you are, too. All kinds of irregularities — mental, emotional, spiritual, physical. Just look at my face! We are irregular human beings but are still miracles of beauty, shaped in utter uniqueness by a loving and creative Creator.
Our Lord is the God of the snowflakes.
Psalm 27 begins with the words, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (v. 1). If we are, in fact, God’s snowflakes — precious, unique, and transient — then we need a Lord to save us and act as a stronghold for us. Otherwise, we are going to melt, disappear, and be lost forever.
But not in a bad way.
He lived in Vermont, and was fascinated by snow. Loving it so much, he found a way to put snowflakes on black velvet and photograph them, testing the belief that no two are exactly the same. He photographed and published over 5,000 individual snowflakes, and you can see his work today at the Bentley Snow Crystal Collection of the Buffalo Museum of Science.
Because of his obsession, Bentley was given a nickname — “Snowflake.”
No surprise there.
Bentley examined snowflakes under a microscope and discovered that they were all miracles of beauty. “Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated,” he wrote. “When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind.”
Looking at the Bentley Snow Crystal Collection, an observer named Morgan Meis found that he was especially fond of snowflake number 892. Roughly stellar in category, this one is a bit irregular — its top left arm does not have a cap like the other five.
Irregular, but beautiful.
I don’t think that Wilson Alwyn Bentley is the only person who should be given the nickname “Snowflake” — we all should. Each of us is a miracle of beauty, a masterpiece of design, and no one design is ever repeated. Are we irregular? Of course! I am, and you are, too. All kinds of irregularities — mental, emotional, spiritual, physical. Just look at my face! We are irregular human beings but are still miracles of beauty, shaped in utter uniqueness by a loving and creative Creator.
Our Lord is the God of the snowflakes.
Psalm 27 begins with the words, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (v. 1). If we are, in fact, God’s snowflakes — precious, unique, and transient — then we need a Lord to save us and act as a stronghold for us. Otherwise, we are going to melt, disappear, and be lost forever.
posted by Henry Brinton | 1:39 PM
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