Seeing Creation

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”  Psalm 150:6

“Praise God from whom all blessings flow; praise Him all creatures here below.” (from  The Doxology)

In the book I wrote about on Sunday, Tending to Eden, the author allowed several leading voices in Creation Care to write small essays.  One of these was written by Tony Campolo and is called “Creation Care and Worship.”  In this brief essay Campolo argues that “we humans are not the only ones called to worship God.” He believes that the Bible teaches that all of God’s Creation was created to offer its Creator worship and praise.  There are certainly numerous biblical passages that back this claim.  Psalm 148, for example, says “Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds…”

If we understand that all things were created to worship God it will help us see Creation in a new light.  Perhaps it will even come to help us appreciate more our fellow worshippers and create within us a desire to learn more about them.  Recognizing that everything on earth was made to worship God will also affect how we treat the earth and its creatures.  We will do all we can to help preserve all species for, as Campolo says, whenever another species is made extinct “we have silenced a special voice of praise to the Almighty.”

In the final paragraph of his essay Campolo says, “To interfere with worship is blasphemy.  Thus, the obliteration of the environment has blasphemous dimensions to it.  Considering what we have done to nature, we need to repent, because we have hindered nature’s glorification of the God who created all things in heaven and on earth to praise his name.”

We can and should avoid blasphemy by being good stewards of God’s Creation and by making sure that we add our own voice in offering praise to God.  When all of Creation offers its praise to God what a beautiful song it must be!

–Chuck

(This cardinal and pika I photographed are just two examples of  those who join us in praising God.)

About every other year I try to read the entire Bible through.  I’m doing it again this year.  Currently I’m in First Chronicles.  A couple of nights ago I was reading the 16^th chapter where it says King David “first appointed the singing of praises to the Lord by Asaph and his kindred.”  The verses that follow (vs. 7-36) appear to be a medley from a number of Psalms.  In these verses God is offered praise and thanksgiving for a number of reasons.  Not surprisingly, one of those reasons is He is the Creator.

In v. 30 it says, “Worship the Lord in holy splendor; tremble before him, all the earth.”  When all the earth is called to worship God one might think the writer is calling all humans to worship but it truly is “all the earth” that is exhorted to praise God for verse 32 says “Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it.”  Later the writer says “the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord.”

How do you explain this?  I honestly don’t know.  Perhaps the biblical writers were only speaking figuratively and the idea of the sea, field and trees praising God is not to be taken literally.  But then again, who are we to say that all of Creation does not, in fact, join together in offering praise to its Creator?

Considering the fact that we humans do a pretty lousy job offering God praise I hope that somehow, someway, the Creation does in fact offer continuous praise to God.  There have certainly been times when I have been in the mountains, beside the sea or in the desert and felt that all of Creation was indeed worshiping God.  I’d like to think those moments were not just my imagination getting carried away but were, instead, nature responding to the biblical call to “worship the Lord…all the earth.”   In Colossians 1:16 Paul says concerning Jesus, “all things were created by him and for him.”  That being the case, “all things” should join in offering their Creator praise and that includes us.

–Chuck

(The field of flowers and ocean scene above were taken on my recent trip to California.  I believe in their own way they, too, offer God praise.)

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.)

Presently I am teaching two small group studies on worship at my church.  The book we are studying is called Real Worship.  In one of the chapters we’ll be focusing on later today the author, Warren Wiersbe, offers some interesting insight on the correlation between worship and Creation Care. 

He writes, “If the church today were truly worshiping the Creator and not the creature, we Christians would be making better use of the precious resources God has given us.  The church would be speaking out against such sinful waste, and would also be setting the right kind of example.  If we really believed that we are stewards of God’s glorious creation, and if we praised Him sincerely for these bountiful gifts, we would never waste them, abuse them, or use them selfishly.  If God rejoices in His works (Ps. 104:31), then He must be deeply grieved by our works in destroying His creation.”

Later Wiersbe adds, “If worship transforms individuals and churches—and it does, if it is spiritual worship—then one of the evidences of this transformation will be seen in the way these individuals and churches use God’s gifts in creation.  It is not enough to sing on Sunday morning ‘This is My Father’s World’ and then live the rest of the week as though we were in charge.  This is idolatry.  This is turning God’s house into a den of thieves.”

These are strong words but they are true.  Worship and Creation Care cannot be separated.  On the back of my vehicle I have a bumper sticker that reads “If you love the Creator, take care of Creation.”  It might just as well say, “If you worship the Creator, take care of Creation.”  Worship implies that we acknowledge God’s “worth.”  As the world’s Creator and Redeemer He is worthy of our worship.  If we will recognize God’s true status we will give Him glory and praise.  We will, likewise, seek to take care of the world He has made.  It all goes together.  I just wish more people understood that.

–Chuck

(The image above was taken at Cumberland Falls State Park near Corbin, Kentucky.)

In the course of writing this blog I have indicated numerous times that the world we live in should be viewed as a marvelous gift from God.  Today I thought of a couple more reasons why Creation is such a wonderful gift.  First, it helps move us to worship.  I often share with my congregation that worshipping God is the most important thing we can do as humans.  Looking at and studying the natural world helps us realize the greatness of God.  This, ideally, will lead us to worship Him.

Second, and this is directly related to the first reason, it helps to keep us humble. When we look at God’s gift of Creation and contemplate the wisdom, power and love that are revealed in it we recognize our true position before God.  All of a sudden we don’t seem so big or in control of things.

In most of the Book of Job we find Job pretty confident that he understands how everything works (or should work) and that he has control over his own life, but in chapter 38 God finally speaks and asks “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?”  God goes on to ask Job a lot of questions that reveal to Job that his understanding is lacking and that he is definitely not in control of things.

If you’ll take time to read Job 38-41 you’ll discover that most of God’s questions to Job pertain to the natural world.  Here are a few examples.  “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?”  “Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?”  “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or seen the storehouses of the hail…?”   “Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades?  Can you loose the cords of Orion?”

By the time Job responds in chapter 42 he is a humbled man and is ready to offer God worship.  He says “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.  You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.”

Like Job, in nature I find “things too wonderful for me to know” and this both humbles me and leads me to want to worship the Creator more.

–Chuck

(The image above was taken at Mt. Rainier National Park a number of years ago. Before this great mountain I definitely felt humbled!)

In my last blog I wrote about how my experience in nature goes well beyond the visual realm.  I noted how important sounds were as well.  To this I would also add smells.  Although all the scents of nature may not be pleasant, there are many which have added immensely to my enjoyment of nature.  I even buy candles with some of these scents to remind me of being outdoors or in special places. 

I love the smell of sagebrush and always look forward to catching a whiff of sage when I travel west.  I love a lot of the woody scents—balsam, cedar and pine.  Other favorite scents include honeysuckle, eucalyptus trees, the ocean, tilled earth, and any number of flowers.  Even though I don’t particularly like the sulfur smell one encounters in Yellowstone National Park, that scent also helps to make Yellowstone special to me. 

The sense of smell is important to us.  Interestingly enough, the Bible indicates that God has this sense as well.  Nearly forty times in the Old Testament reference is made to God smelling the pleasing odor of a burnt offering.  There were various aromas associated with the sacrifices used in the worship of God.  Aromatic incense was also used in worship.  Incense eventually came to be associated with prayer.  In Psalm 141:2 David asked “May my prayer be set before you like incense…” (see also Revelation 5:8)  In the Gospel of John there is a beautiful story of a woman who poured out “a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume” on Jesus feet.  This costly act was, likewise, an expression of worship. 

Sunday I wrote about how the sounds of nature join together in offering praise to God.  Would it be going too far to say that the smells of nature—both the good and the bad—are likewise a part of Creation’s worship of the Creator?  Personally, I don’t have a problem with that at all. 

–Chuck

 (The image above is of Giant Geyser in Yellowstone National Park.)