Seeing Creation

There can be no denying that Jesus was a masterful teacher.  He not only knew what to say and how, he also knew when.  In Vespers tonight I’ll be teaching from the seventh chapter of John’s Gospel.  The setting for this chapter is Jerusalem at the time of the Feast of Tabernacles.  At this popular feast the Jews remembered the days their ancestors had spent wandering in the desert centuries before.  They recalled how through Moses God brought forth water from a rock.  Throughout the eight day festival water libations were offered to remind themselves of God’s provisions and also to offer prayers for rain.

John tells us that “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within.’”  (7:37-38)  At the precise time when the gift of water was the focus Jesus invited everyone to come to him and quench their thirst.  What he offered them was not some beverage that would only momentarily slake their thirst; he offered them himself and the “living water” that alone can satisfy our greatest need.  Those who received this gift of living water would then be able to draw from it and share the same gift with others.

Some believe that behind Jesus’ words is a prophecy found in Isaiah 58:11. “The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.  You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”  You also cannot read Jesus’ words without recalling his message to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:14, “…whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.  Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

An ever-flowing stream is a wonderful metaphor for the gift of life and salvation Jesus offers us. Picturing Jesus’ gift as just a cup of water is not adequate.  I picture instead a stream not unlike the one shown above–a stream that is gushing.   If we accept Jesus’ invitation to believe in him we will be filled with a source of living water that shall never cease.  It will, in fact, be so abundant we won’t be able not to share it with others.  If you get the privilege of seeing a swollen stream this spring, I hope you’ll stop and think about this.  I have a feeling that is what the master teacher, Jesus, would want us to do.

–Chuck

(I took these two images of Gap Creek in Cumberland Gap National Historical Park earlier this month.)

During a number of periods of quiet this past week I became keenly aware of the songs of birds being sung outside my home.  I have enjoyed the tunes provided by mockingbirds, cardinals and chickadees.  More than once the bird’s songs have made me think of Rachel Carson.

I have always enjoyed the outdoors.  A lot of my childhood years were spent playing in the woods.  It was not, however, until about twenty years ago that I  became interested in environmental issues.  When I did become interested one of the first books I read was Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring.  As many of you know, this classic work revealed the detrimental effects of certain pesticides on birds and other wildlife species.  Carson feared we would be facing “silent springs” if the use of these pesticides were not banned.  Thankfully, Silent Spring led to many important changes and caused our country to become more sensitive to environmental issues.

Rachel Carson was keenly aware of our need to practice good stewardship when it comes to the earth.  She once wrote, “The human race is challenged more than ever before to demonstrate our mastery—not over nature but of ourselves.”  Her words are perhaps more true today than ever before.  In many different venues humans and the environment continue to be threatened by harmful chemicals and pollution.  We still need voices like Rachel Carson’s to rise up and take a stand against these dangers.  Christians should join in the chorus and remember our divine calling to care for the earth.  We cannot afford to forget that “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” (Genesis 2:15)

Because of the courage and passion of one like Rachel Carson I have yet to experience a silent spring.  Will the generations that follow us be able to say the same thing?  Perhaps, but they will not if we do not do our part now and make every effort possible to keep harmful substances out of our air and waters.  We will have to be wiser than those who have gone before us.  I hope and pray that we will.  I just cannot imagine a spring without the songs of birds.  Can you?

–Chuck

(I took these bird images at my home this past week.)

Let me say right off that I believe that there’s no better way to experience God’s Creation than by getting outdoors and enjoying it firsthand.  There are, however, some wonderful alternatives.  In recent weeks I’ve spent a good bit of time in front of the computer watching a live cam of an eagle’s nest in Norfolk, Virginia.  A friend told me about the site about the time the eagle pair had produced their three eggs.  About a week and a half ago the first eaglet was born.  Since then, its two siblings have also hatched.  What an incredible blessing it has been to watch the eagle pair care for their little eaglets.  I especially enjoy watching the feeding sessions.  If you would like to check out the live cam here is the link: http://www.wvec.com/marketplace/microsite-content/eagle-cam.html.  (This has become a very popular site so if you don’t get on at first, keep trying.  Also, make sure to open the discussion site to the right; there’s lots of great information on eagles available there.)

Getting to watch what I’ve seen on the live cam would be next to impossible in the wild.  In the vast majority of cases it would not be safe for me or the eagles to do so.  For that reason I am grateful for modern technology and the opportunities that we are given to observe nature vicariously.  In the past I’ve also enjoyed watching live cams of grizzly bears at McNeill River in Alaska and of Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park.  If you can’t be there in person, this is the next best thing.

Over the years I’ve learned a lot about bald eagles through books and also lectures I’ve heard given by my friend, Ken Jenkins.  A number of years ago I accompanied Ken on a trip to the Chilkat Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska.  It was an amazing experience.   This, combined with the wonderful live cam in Virginia, has vastly increased my knowledge of this majestic bird. 

Students of the Bible will recall that the eagle is mentioned several times in Scripture.  Often it portrays speed and power.  In both the Old Testament (Ezekiel 1:10-14) and New Testament (Revelation 4:7) the eagle is included as one of the manifestations of God.  In Exodus 19:4 God speaks to the Hebrews and says, “You yourselves have seen…how I carried you on eagle’s wings and brought you to myself.”  Perhaps the most famous biblical reference to eagles is found in Isaiah 40:31: “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

I encourage you to check out the live eagle nest cam and to reflect on God’s Word as you do.  If you do I suspect you’ll find yourself giving thanks for God’s wonderful Creation and for the opportunity to experience it vicariously from time to time.

–Chuck

(I took the images above at the Chilkat Eagle Preserve in Alaska.)

If you were out last night and the skies were clear you may have noticed a beautiful full moon.  You may even have thought it looked bigger than usual.  Actually it was.  Last night we experienced what some have called a “super moon.”  Because the moon was at the closest point it gets to the earth and it happened to be a full moon the view of our lunar neighbor was extra special last evening.  It will be quite a while before the conditions are the same again so I hope you got to see it.

The moon has fascinated humans from the very beginning.  It continues to be a source of fascination for me.  Early in my life I dreamed of one day becoming an astronaut and flying to the moon.  Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were my heroes.  Needless to say, my dream of becoming an astronaut never materialized.

For quite some time the moon has been a reminder to me of an important spiritual truth.  In the Gospels Jesus indicated that he was “the light of the world” and in the Sermon on the Mount he went on to say “You are the light of the world.  A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

This passage raises an interesting question.  Is Jesus the light of the world or are we?  The answer in once sense is obvious; we both are.  But there is certainly a difference in the light we share and the light Christ shared.  Jesus, as the Son of God, shown with his own light.  Our light, however, is derivative.  We shine as the light of the world only as we reflect the light of Christ.  It’s here where the moon helps us out.  As every elementary school child learns, the moon has no light of its own; it simply reflects the sun’s light.  In the spiritual life it is the same.  We have no light to share of our own but we are able to be reflections of Christ’s light.

When I look up at the moon I’m often reminded of our calling to be “the light of the world” and how if I am to let my light shine at all I must remain close to the true Source of light and reflect his light to others.  If we let things get between us and the Source of light we do not offer much of a reflection.  It’s imperative that we remove anything that hinders Christ’s light from shining on us and from us.  In a world filled with as much darkness as ours, I’m hoping there will be lots of “super moons” out there and that I can be one of them too.

–Chuck

(I took both of these images last night in my back yard.)

The terrible destruction and on-going problems in Japan are deservedly in the news. They need our prayers and support.

And it has made me think about God in all of this. Some of the things that photographers love about the natural world include mountains and oceans. Both of which are in abundance in Japan and in Southern California where I live. And those mountains only exist because of the way the earth works, including earthquakes and volcanoes. And part of the wonder of the ocean is also the nature of water which is susceptible to tsunamis.

One reason people like living in places like Japan, Hawaii and California is because of the mountains and the ocean. The forces that made these things are also the same forces that made the volcanoes, earthquakes and so forth. I think it shows we live on a dynamic earth. This certainly argues against a static earth once formed by God and then nothing more happens.

I know that there are some fearful folks who feel that these forces show God’s wrath or that God originally made a perfect planet and now it is stressed by forces of evil (because of the fall of Eden). I find that hard to believe and there is nothing in the Bible that would have me believe that. I know that we all come back to the first part of Genesis, but it truly says that God made what we have and He saw it was good. There are others who would say that this is evidence that there either is no God or a God that doesn’t care. I think that is misreading the “two books of God”, the Bible and nature.

To “make” an earth, a solar system, etc., requires a great deal of energy, regardless of where that comes from. To me, God created the earth and endowed it with certain characteristics, the “laws of nature.” That explains much because the world continues to evolve based on what God started. There is a lot of energy built into our planet. You can’t have mountains and the wonderful variation of this earth without other things going on. Sure, God could arbitrarily change that, but would we want to live in a world that we could not count on? Mountains that appeared suddenly without reason, for example. I think God is smarter than that and sees a bigger picture of things than we can possibly know.

It reminds me of the movie, Bruce Almighty. Bruce thought he could do a better job than God but then he quickly understood that God cannot simply do one thing without affecting many other things. With an intricate system that is our planet, I believe there are things that happen because of the way it is so beautifully integrated, not because God is wrathful or benign. There are causes and effects that cannot be arbitrarily changed without affecting something else. Things like tsunamis and disease happen because of the intricate web of connections, connections so deep that we cannot fully understand them, connections that cannot be arbitrarily cut without changes that could be much, much worse.

That flows into many things we need to consider about our planet today. With a system so intricate that only God truly can understand all of its connections, we really cannot do just one thing without affecting other parts of that system. John Muir and the ecologist, Garret Hardin, said basically the same thing, “You can’t do just one thing.” People want to say, “but it is my right” or “but I own it”, yet those ideas truly do not sit in isolation from the rest of the world anymore. And concerning God’s world, who really owns it and do we have a right to do anything we want? Are we living a man-centered life with attitudes about what is right or wrong based on our limited point of view or do we live a God centered life that understands He is in control and probably knows a little more than we do about our planet?

The images here are from the Sierra Nevada mountains in California, the mountains in Zion National Park in Utah and the Pacific Ocean on the California Coast by Guadalupe Dunes.

– Rob

Yesterday was the Ides of March, March 15.  It was also the birthday of Maurice Coleman.  Maurice was the pastor I worked with back in the 70s when I was a youth minister.  I had the privilege of serving with him in Waverly, Tennessee, for only 2 ½ years but we maintained a close friendship until his death in 1997.  Few people have had more influence on my life.

Since yesterday was Maurice’s birthday I spent a good bit of time thinking about him.  He was definitely one of the smartest people I have ever met and had a memory I envy to this day.  He was also very funny, incredibly compassionate, and a faithful servant of the Lord.  He, his wife Lanelle, and daughter Denise, became like a second family to me.  Lanelle and Denise still are.  In fact, my wife and I are the proud godparents of Denise’s children—Emily and Caleb Stookey.

Maurice helped instill in me a love for reading and good books.  I have scores of books on my shelves today that were gifts he graciously bestowed upon me.  He also taught me a lot about how to be a minister.  I was brand new to ministry in those years and had a lot to learn.  I could not have asked for a better teacher.  As a pastor today I owe a huge debt to him.

While thinking about Maurice yesterday it also occurred to me that he has influenced my life in other ways that I really hadn’t thought about.  Maurice loved flowers and meticulously planted and cared for them in his yard.  I had never known a man who loved flowers.  I grew up associating them with women.  Today I, too, love flowers and they are one of my favorite photographic subjects.  That comes, in part, from Maurice’s influence.

Maurice also had a deep love for nature that went beyond flowers.  He loved birds as well and was the first person I encountered who fed them on a regular basis.  He took great delight in watching the birds come to his feeders, just as I do today.   Maurice was not a photographer—I don’t even remember him owning a camera—but his house was filled with beautiful prints by artists like Ray Harm, Ralph McDonald and Jim Gray.  The subject for all of these prints was nature—birds, flowers, animals, trees, etc.  Here again, I cannot help but believe that Maurice Coleman was influential in shaping my own love of and appreciation for nature.

Fourteen years ago I spoke at Maurice’s funeral and remember saying that I would always bear his mark upon my life.  I’m not sure I realized even then just how true that would be.  I bear his mark every time I preach, every time I photograph, every time I sit down here to write a post for Seeing Creation.  I realize most of you never knew Maurice Coleman but I wish you could have.  I really do.

–Chuck 

(The tulips shown above were grown by Maurice at his house in Waverly, TN.  I took the cardinal image here at my home.  It was in a tree next to my feeder.)