Seeing Creation

It’s Valentine’s Day and just about everyone’s thoughts turn to love.  At church this morning I reminded my congregation that each time we gather for worship we celebrate the greatest love of all, God’s love.  God’s love was revealed first and foremost in the gift of His Son, Jesus, but I’m convinced it is also revealed in His Creation.

While I was in Yellowstone National Park this past week I had a chance to photograph the world’s most famous geyser, Old Faithful, three different times (the picture above was one of those eruptions).  This geyser got its name because the frequency of its eruptions is fairly predictable.  These days Old Faithful erupts about every ninety minutes.

There are many other things in nature that are even more “faithful” than Old Faithful.  Things like sunrises and sunsets, the ebb and flow of the tides, and lunar and solar eclipses are all precisely predictable. To me they are also reminders of God’s ever faithful love and care.

The Psalmist seems to have seen in God’s Creation a reflection of His love and faithfulness as well.  In Psalm 136 the writer praises God “who spread out the earth upon the waters” and then adds “His love endures forever.”  He gives thanks to the One “who made the great lights” and then adds “His love endures forever.”  He acknowledges that it is God who made “the sun to govern the day” then adds “His love endures forever.”  He affirms that it is God who made “the moon and stars to govern the night” and then adds again, “His love endures forever.”

Over and over again the Psalmist repeats the words “His love endures forever.”  He knew in his heart that the One who created the world loves us with a love that is everlasting.  As Christians this is the good news we have to share with others.  In God we experience a love like no other, a love that endures forever.  For this love I will be eternally grateful.

–Chuck

One of my favorite novelists is Fyodor Dostoyevsky.  I’ve read most of his novels but my favorite is The Brothers Karamazov.  In a section of this classic book one of the characters says, “Love all of God’s creation, the whole and every grain of sand in it.  Love every leaf, every ray of God’s light.  Love the animals, love the plants, love everything.  If you love everything, you will perceive the divine mystery in things.” 

Jesus taught that the “greatest commandment” is that we are to love God with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind and all of our strength.  I think loving God’s Creation is also pretty important.  In fact, loving what God has made is one way we can show our love for God.  And if Dostoyevsky is right, it is also one way that we can come to know God better. 

It is also important that we come to love God’s Creation so that we can protect it.  We have a natural tendency to protect that which we love.  If people don’t care about the earth or the environment, they will not likely make an effort to preserve and protect it.  

There are a number of ways we can come to love Creation more.  First, we can do so by spending more time outdoors in nature.  I like looking at pictures of nature but they are no substitute for the real thing!  Second, we can study about the world God has made.  By reading books on natural history or individual species I have come to love and appreciate God’s Creation in new ways.  There is no shortage of wonderful books that will help you better understand God’s handiwork.  Third, pay close attention to the role nature plays in the Scriptures.  Literally from beginning to end the Bible shows us how important God’s Creation is to Him and for us.   Realizing this will lead us to love His Creation more. 

Loving Creation may not be the “greatest commandment” but it is definitely something Christians should strive to do. 

–Chuck 

(The leaves above were photographed on Monday in Michigan’s Hiawatha National Forest.)