Divine Topography

In The Winter’s Tale, Shakespeare wrote of “unpathed waters, undreamed shores.” The great playwright lived during the golden age of geographic discovery, when new lands still were being discovered and the general perception of the world was being radically stretched.

Compared to Shakespeare’s time, there’s very little we don’t know about our planet. Satellites, GPS, topographic maps, the USGS, Google Earth, etc. have reduced the globe to a series of quadrants, gridlines, and compass points. Much of the mystery is gone when one can learn all one needs to know about Papua New Guinea on the Internet and then buy a plane ticket there with a few mouse clicks.

One thing is certain, though: we still have to bow a knee when we consider the earth itself, God’s true creativity on glorious display. Who knows what any of us might have crafted out of the unmolded clay that became the world? The fact is, God made a wondrous place. Yes, scripture says that the fall broke the world, and human beings continue to do their worst to accelerate the destruction, but think about it—have you ever stood on a rocky beach, spray whipping around you as the sun sinks low in the western sky, and stared at the “unpathed waters” stretching out before you? Sure, some map somewhere has got your line of vision charted, but who cares? You are looking into the very heart of mystery—the heart of God.

God, I am humbled by the mystery of You.