Seeing Creation

One of my favorite places is the Ancient Bristlecone Forest in California in the White Mountains. These are relatively dry mountains inbetween the Sierra Nevada and Death Valley. At altitude (meaning above 10,00 feet) are the ancient bristlecones.

These trees can be thousands of years old. The oldest are estimated to be around 4,000 years old. That just blows me away. When I am in the presence of one of these trees, I understand that it was alive, and probably old, before Christ was born. I understand that, but it is really hard to fully grasp down deep. From our limited human perspective, Christ was born a long time ago. So many things have happened in human and church history since then. Yet no matter what happened, this bristlecone pine went about its business simply living in a very challenging environment.

When most people hear of bristlecone pine, they think of these ancient trees. Yet, in many locations up in the mountains, bristlecone pine grow like most any other pine in forests that look like many other pine forests. There are unique conditions in the ancient bristlecone area. The soil has a lot of a stone called dolomite — this makes the soil filled with some minerals that discourage growth of many plants and slow the growth of the bristlecone. In addition, the soil dries quickly. Even more, these trees are growing at altitudes of 11,000 feet and more, so winter conditions are severe. That keeps other plants out, which would cut wind, and further adds stress to the bristlecones. So they grow slowly, but can be damaged on one side or the other so that side dies, yet the plant keeps growing. Conditions are too difficult for most diseases or rot-causing fungi.

That kind of gives a perspective about God. We always want things to happen quickly (that certainly is true of me!), yet here is one of God’s creations that simply lives seemingly forever. A year or two is nothing to an ancient bristlecone pine. A 50-year-old bristlecone in this area is but a baby.

In Bishop Tutu’s wonderful book, Made for Goodness, he talks about how we often feel we fail or succeed on very limited timeframes. He feels that God may have success for us in mind, but it is on His timeframe, not ours, because He knows more about the world and what happens in it than we will ever know. In that vein, one might look at a broken, half-dead bristlecone and think it has failed to survive in a tough environment. Yet, God created this tree to live in this environment, to be in this environment, so loss of part of the tree does not matter because the tree is also alive and has been for centuries. Perhaps there is a lesson in the bristlecone that time is relative and that our demands for “success” or “failure avoidance” may be way too limited in their timescale.

–Rob

If nature teaches us one thing about God it is that He values variety. In His Creation we see a magnificent diversity manifested in numerous ways. I was reminded of this on Monday when Pat O’Hara took me to the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia. This is one of the most famous gardens in North America, and for good reason.

I told Pat when we entered the gardens that I felt like I was experiencing sensory overload. The sheer number of flowers and the amazing variety of colors was almost too much to take in. Seeing all of this beauty, however, moved me to offer thanks to God for creating so many different flowers. Just in this one garden we saw countless species with varying colors, shapes and sizes. It was a vivid reminder that God values diversity.

This reminder was reinforced by taking notice of the people who came to visit the gardens that day. There seemed to be almost all nationalities represented. There was a variety of skin colors, sizes, shapes and ages that mimicked the flowers everyone was viewing. In these people the marvelous diversity of the Creator was revealed.

The diversity revealed in Creation speaks volumes about the Creator. It tells of His unlimited creativity and power. It speaks of His love for us and reveals His delight in and preference for variety. As creatures created in the image of God I suspect our Maker intends for us to take delight in diversity too.

(All images were taken at Butchart Gardens this past Monday.)

I have spent the last three days in Paradise.  Really!  I have been at the Paradise area in Mount Rainier National Park.  The name given to this gorgeous place is fitting.  The Paradise area sits below lofty Mount Rainier and is world famous for its wildflower display each summer.  John Muir once described Paradise Meadows as “the most luxuriant and the most extravagantly beautiful of all the alpine gardens I ever beheld in all my mountaintop wanderings.”  The meadows are still covered with wildflowers today but the presence of millions of visitors has come with a price.  Many sections of the fragile landscape has been trampled. 

Today there seem to be as many signs warning park visitors to stay on the trails as there are wildflowers.  As several have noted in recent years, we seem to be loving our national parks to death!  Paradise Meadows is still beautiful but for it to remain that way for future generations to enjoy park visitors like myself must be very careful not to tred off marked trails.

The Bible describes another Paradise God created long long ago.  Unfortunately, it too has been marred by the “footprint” of its visitors.  With nearly seven billion people inhabiting planet earth today it is more important than ever before that we exercise caution and restraint as we live out our lives on this fragile planet. Perhaps we need more signs (like the one shown below asking people in many different languages to exercise caution) reminding us that if we’re not careful we will lose what we have.

The Bible actually contains many signs warning us not to abuse the land. Ecologists and scientists over the years have posted numerous warning signs. The destruction that has already occurred to God’s Creation should likewise serve as a sign.

It is obvious to me that Paradise has not yet been lost but it has certainly been damaged.  Will the generations that follow us be able to enjoy what we do today?  That’s up to us.

–Chuck

(The top image of Mount Rainier was taken at Reflection Lakes yesterday.  The flowers and sign were both taken at Paradise Meadows.)

The garden as a good place for people to connect with the world is used a number of times in the Bible, starting with the Garden of Eden all the way up to Jesus retiring to the Garden of Gethsemane. Those two gardens, in particular, are sacred spaces. The Garden of Eden is a place of paradise where all life comes from. While the Garden of Gethsemane is often simply seen as the place of Jesus arrest and violence, you have to think a little deeper about it. Of all places Jesus could have gone to pray during this troubling time, including inside a temple, He chose to be outside in a garden. The implication is that the garden provided some relief from the stress He was under and that He felt closer to God there.

I definitely feel closer to God in my garden. It is also a place of joy because I can go there any time and explore it photographically. I do not need to go on any long trips or pack a lot of gear. It is also a place that helps relieve stressful times in my own life.

One thing that helps me feel closer to the nature that God has created is that my garden is a native plants garden. I have grown native prairie plants in gardens before in Minnesota, and now, I am growing plants native to the chaparral of Southern California. These plants represent an important part of the natural ecosystems of Southern California and help me feel more connected to them. I can now watch and photograph these plants 24/7 and all year round to learn their lives and personalities.

I think such gardens and the use of native plants is important in our landscapes. I believe that one of the reasons people get alienated from nature and do not connect with God’s creation well is that they truly are alienated from nature when all they have growing around them is either exotic plants they will never see in the wild or asphalt. What a choice. Can you imagine Jesus retiring to the Garden of Gethsemane so He could sit under exotic flowers from South Africa rather than connect with plants that were truly part of His world? How do you connect with a God of creation if all you see are plants and flowers from another continent that are not part of your world?

I love seeing exotic flowers and plants, too. I would not want gardens to never have them. But I do think the world immediately around us, including our gardens, can have a big impact on how we see nature and, ultimately, God.

Rob

I continue to be amazed at how the various figures of the Bible use nature to illustrate spiritual truths.  I’m reading the Book of Jeremiah now and a few days ago I came across a passage where the prophet encouraged his listeners to trust in God.  He indicates that there are benefits of trusting God but he doesn’t say exactly what these benefits are.  Instead he compares them to a tree planted by water.

The passage I’m referring to is Jeremiah 17:7-8.  It reads, “Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.  They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.  It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit.”

A similar comparison is made in Psalm 1.  There the Psalmist declares as “happy” those whose “delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night.  They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither.” (v. 3)

Since I live in an area which has lots of creeks and rivers I see every day “trees planted by water.”  And sure enough, even in the tremendous heat we are experiencing this summer, they continue to thrive.  They have what they need most—water.

In God we find what we need most.  And Jeremiah is certainly right.  There are many benefits of putting our trust in God.  Like the tree planted by water we can endure difficult times when we remain close to God.  We can live without fear and anxiety knowing that the One who created us and everything else has promised to provide for our needs.  We can live productive lives as long as we stay close to our Maker.  This is something Jesus himself stressed in his analogy of the vine and the branches in John 15.

As a pastor I have the privilege of delivering sermons each Sunday.  Here lately the Bible has been reminding me that nature delivers sermons each and every day.  Are we listening?  We should be!

–Chuck

(The “tree planted by water” shown above was photographed at Breaks Interstate Park in southeast Kentucky.)

“…the joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Nehemiah 8:10

This weekend Bonita and I celebrated our 29^th anniversary by going over to Cumberland Falls State Park.   As always, I took my camera with me (I have a very understanding wife!) thinking I might find something to photograph.  As we entered the park it was raining and I quickly noticed that everything was green.  This is not my favorite time of the year to photograph and I began to think that I’d probably brought my camera along for nothing.  Then I began to notice all of the flowers.

Around here we have wildflowers about nine months out of the year.  Maybe because they are almost always around I sometimes fail to pay them any attention.  This is just another example of ways we can take nature for granted.  Some of us have eyes only for the spectacular.  We fail to notice and appreciate the simple.

This reminds me of something Sigurd Olson wrote in his book, Open Horizons.  He said, “Joys come from simple and natural things, mists over meadows, sunlight on leaves, the path of the moon over water.  Even rain and wind and stormy clouds bring joy, just as knowing animals and flowers and where they live.  Such things are where you find them, and belong to the aware and alive.”

If we are not careful we will miss out on a lot of the joys God has intended for us in His Creation.  Doing so is equivalent to receiving a precious gift from someone and never noticing that it is even there.  Creation is God’s gift to us and certainly deserves to be noticed.  Recognizing that our joy is at stake, perhaps we should begin each day by praying that God would help us to be “aware and alive” and more cognizant of the “simple and natural things” around us. 

–Chuck

(The image above was taken yesterday near the entrance to Cumberland Falls State Park.)

“They are strong, like a tree planted by water…” (Psalm 1:3)

This past week numerous trees were planted around the world. This occurs each year as part of Arbor Day. Many of those who participated probably didn’t realize that by  planting trees we join with God in the work of Creation.

Trees play an important role in the Scriptures. In the opening chapters of the Bible God creates trees. Adam and Eve are charged to tend to or care for these trees. At the end of the Scriptures we find a description of the Celestial City. John tells us there will be trees there that bear fruit perpetually. Between Genesis and Revelation there are numerous other references to trees.

Robert Frost has a poem called A Prayer in Spring.  Here’s the first stanza:

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;

And give us not to think so far away

As the uncertain harvest; keep us here

All simply in the springing of the year.

As Rob and I have both noted recently, this is a wonderful time of the year to take pleasure in the flowers.  In the mountains of my area one can now find trillium, bloodroot, trout lilies, hepatica, and scores of other wildflower species.  Of course, many domestic species are also currently blooming. 

The flowers are there but are we seeing and taking pleasure in them?  The fact that Frost feels the need to pray that we will indicates that this does not come automatically.  God gives us the flowers to enjoy but there are things that can keep us from experiencing the enjoyment intended.

If I read his poem correctly, Frost seems to be pointing to worry over the future as something that can keep us from the pleasures of God’s Creation today.  For the farmer the worry might be over an “uncertain harvest.”  For the rest of us it could be any number of things.  There is no shortage of things to cause us anxiety about the future.

Frost prays that God would “keep us here, all simply in the springing of the year.”  To me this is a reminder of how important it is to live in the present moment.  If we’re always worrying about what might happen down the road there’s a good chance we will miss the blessings of today.

In the same sermon where Jesus encouraged us to “consider the lilies” and to “look at the birds” he said, “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Mt. 6:33-34)  In telling us this, his point was that we can trust God to take care of us each day.  There’s no need to be fretting about the future.  If we remain anxious, we will miss the blessings of today—blessings like the beautiful flowers all around us.

–Chuck

(The trillium and phacelia pictured here are common southern Appalachian wildflowers.)

I live in Kentucky, which is known as the Bluegrass State.  Here recently it has looked more like the Purplegrass State.  My entire yard has been covered with lovely violets!  

Violets are quite abundant in this area and come in a variety of colors (purple, white, yellow and blue being the most common).  They all look, however, pretty much the same.  If you have ever examined a violet up close you know that on the lowest petal you can see a series of lines.  Naturalists tell us that these lines help guide insects to the source of nectar contained in the flower.   The center of the flower is the lightest in color and this, too, might further attract insects to this spot.

I find it fascinating that when the Creator designed violets that He placed upon them “guide lines” that would help insects out.  To me this says volumes about God.  It shows us that God is concerned about the “little details” of life and that He is there to assist all of His Creation, not just humans.  (I once heard someone say God must really love insects since He made more of them than any other creature.  The design of violets might be proof of that!)

Seeing the guide lines in violets also reminds me that God has given us guidelines, too, to help us out in life.  The Bible is filled with instructions meant to make our lives richer and sweeter.  As a pastor I’m often surprised at how biblically illiterate many Christians are.  Our failure to pay attention to Scripture is about as foolish as a bee not paying attention to the violet’s guide lines directing her to the nectar within. 

The Psalmist said, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (119:105)  I think if we gave more attention to the Bible our lives would be enriched and we would find ourselves drawn closer to the One who made us all (violets included).  If you’ve not read the Bible lately, what are you waiting for?

–Chuck

(I photographed the violet above in my yard yesterday.)

Today is Palm Sunday.  In churches all around the world one likely found the presence of palm branches this morning.  Palm trees are common out where Rob lives but not here in Kentucky.  Still, we made sure to have palms available for our service.  Why?  On Palm Sunday we remember Jesus’ dramatic entry into Jerusalem long ago and how the crowds grabbed palm branches to lay on the ground before him in order to show the anticipated Messiah honor and respect.  The display of palm branches was accompanied by shouts of “Hosanna!” and “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

I like the idea that palm branches were used to cushion Jesus’ path as he rode the donkey into Jerusalem.  It seems appropriate.  After all, Creation’s primary purpose is to bring glory to God.  Although there is a sense in which all created things honor God solely by their existence, in this instance the palm branches were collected and used to worship the One who made the heavens and the earth.

 I think we should include elements of nature in our worship more often.  Many churches use flowers to help decorate the sanctuary.   In the southern Appalachians there is a lovely tree that blooms in late March or early April called the Serviceberry.  It usually is pronounced “SAR VIS” but the name goes back to the fact that churches in the mountains would gather branches each spring to brighten their worship “service.”

In a lot of churches there is almost no visible connection between God and nature.  Little emphasis is placed on God as Creator.  I think the writers of both the Old and New Testaments would have trouble with this.  Both Testaments give great honor to the God of Creation.

I’d like to see more churches make proper use of God’s various gifts in Creation as elements of worship.  Doing so could help us remember our vital role as stewards of Creation.  Doing so might very well help lead us into more meaningful worship.

–Chuck

(The image above was taken at Highlands Hammock State Park in Florida.)