There are three ways to look at someone. The first is superficial.They are just a fleshly object. The second way to look at someone is indifference. We see them, but we are indifferent to them. This was the Sumerian gods’ view of humanity: distant and uninterested, or humans to be exploited. The third way to look at someone is through eyes of love. When you look at their face you don’t just see the flesh of their face. Their face is iconic of their whole person. When we look into the face of our beloved we have the awareness that our beloved is looking back us. They know the whole of who we are.
The poetry of Genesis captures this iconic view of God. Creation becomes a kind of icon to see and think of God. Creation is not God. Scripture asks us to guard our hearts against worshiping creation but…but we are invited to worship God through delighting in creation.