Throughout
history, certain groups of people have imbued Nature with
supernatural powers, going so far in some cases as to consider it, or
elements of it, worthy of actual worship. For who can deny the
special and intense sensation of an unearthly presence while walking
along a wilderness path or looking out across the sea’s vast and
unfathomable expanse?
While
it’s tempting to use the term “nature” synonymously with God,
Christians know, or should, that God is not His creation. While His
essence emanates strongly from it, it’s a mistake to limit the Lord
merely to what His hand has fashioned and
to imbue only certain parts of His creation with the sacred power
that is His and His alone.
He is so much more than that, to the point where the human mind
cannot possibly comprehend or absorb even a small fragment of His
greatness. (1
Corinthians 2:9-9b)
Our
task is simply to believe and to enjoy those gifts that God gives us
daily through Nature, his most wondrous masterpiece. And limitless
are the ways in which He reaches us through it or the elements of it
that bear His holy mark.
To
see the light scintillating from the universe’s infinite dusting of
stars and planets against a night sky is to see God’s hand at work.
The hermit thrush’s flute-like melody in early summer is just one
of the Lord’s many songs, and the sun-lit dew-encrusted filaments
of a spider’s web only one of the numerous images in His vast
gallery. Rain dripping from leaves, the mauve's and pinks of a
sunrise or sunset, a deer pausing at the edge of a field before
bounding away, an owl hooting from the dark woods at midnight...all
among the many reminders of God’s amazing ability to reach us in
ways we may not expect or even be ready for.
While
we are not to see Nature as God, we can and should compare our love
and passion for it with what our love is, or should be, for Him. That
is, I believe, His message to us: that we are to take all that we
see, hear, feel, sense, and smell as reminders of His own greatness.
And if Nature is merely one manifestation of that, then what other
wonders await us upon His earthly return or when we meet Him in
glory?
The
other quiet lesson to be had from God through His creation is that it
is possible to put the words “life” and “harmony” in the same
sentence and have them not clash as they so often do in the world in
which we move about and in which we interact with each other and with
forces and conflicts that are the antithesis to what we see just
beyond the edge of the woods. There, life goes on as the Lord
originally intended, with each living thing, be it plant or animal,
going about its business in a harmony disrupted only by intrusions
from without or the impulses generated by hunger or danger. That
Nature reminds us of what we ourselves are capable is one of the most
important messages that God transmits to us from leafy tree boughs, a
warbler’s song, or a sunflower's bright corolla.
As
we continue to appreciate Nature as a tangible reminder of God’s
presence and greatness, let us also never lose sight of the simple
plan He had for us when we were lifted from the dust and appointed
caretakers of His beautiful garden. (Psalm 8:4-6)
And
let our love for the Lord be as strong and overpowering as the awe we
experience when we behold His creation. In doing so, we behold
ourselves and God’s awesome power within us. (Genesis 1:26)
Note:
All Biblical references are taken from the New International Version
(NIV).
