Aware that beauty, especially beauty par
excellence, is the highest, most noble and
most magnificent of all that a mortal human
can experience and accepting this truth
spoken by John Keats, A thing of beauty
is a joy for ever, I sought and now embrace
beauty in the splendor in nature, the
splendor of man and the splendor of God.

Nature, is the most total manifestation of God 
and existence, with vast offerings, including
water, land, air, vegetation, creatures of
many kinds, sun, moon and stars, provides
humans with unlimited benefits and
opportunities. Humans are meant to be
nature's chief beneficiaries and enhancers.
Nature is the primary source.

Man, the masterpiece of Creation, has the
ability to imagine, create, choose good or
evil and determine his own destiny. He is
a little god and, in his highest expression,
the epitome of beauty which is possible
when he surrenders to his Maker, extol the
spiritual over the material, and cease
behaving inhumanely toward other humans
which is primarily motivated by greed. It is
in community that humans live victoriously.

God, the Creator of the universe and all
that is, beyond and beneath it, the beginning
and the end, being and nothingness, Who
is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent,
through prophets, who included Moses,
Buddha and Mohammed, and in His final
revelation, Jesus, demonstrated that full life
is attainable in this world. Jesus revealed
that it is also attainable in the world to come.

Splendor revealed and may be experienced
through meaningful encounters and relation-
ships with nature, man and God, can be
Paradise regained, not as original Paradise
which evolved man, even if he could return
there, would not be happy or fulfilled. The
new Paradise can be experienced in the
eternal now. The challenge for man is to
deliberately and purposefully experience
nature, man and God and have dominon
over the earth. Let this be every man's song
of  life, "Splendor in Nature, Splendor of
Man and Splendor of God is Mine."

(Note: It is Chris Tomlin's How Great is
Our God who began his song with, "The
splendor of a King" that inspired me to
write this discourse. Thank you Chris.)

Copyright 2011 by Uriah J. Fields