The Best Is Yet To Come

God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. (Gen. 1:31a)

I'm sitting on the sofa in my living room, listening to the wind whistle around the house. It has been raining off and on all day, and the leaves are being pulled off the trees at a rapid rate, making their way across the landscape to settle at last, somewhere in the distance. Out for a walk earlier with my granddaughter, I admired the multicolored carpet that the leaves from a big maple tree on our property had made. My granddaughter said we were on a 'nature walk'. Clipboard in hand, she was documenting all the nature-type things that she saw: a bird, a bug, a hummingbird....she is only five years old, so the spelling was a bit off, and the huge letters covered almost the whole page. But I am glad that she is noticing nature, and learning to appreciate it.

Many times, especially since living the country, I am moved by the scenery and the weather that I encounter. The sights, sounds and smells can be entirely captivating. Indeed, I wish I could somehow keep them captive. The blue of the sky, the sight of cows happily munching in the field, their tails lazily swishing away the flies. The sound of crickets, the bright colors of the birds that visit our bird feeder, the smell of the air after a summer rain. So many things that bring a burst of joy and praise to my heart. I wonder why I am so entranced sometimes. I wish I could hug it all to myself, bottle it up, preserve it all somehow. There is so much beauty that just happens, seemingly without effort, that we take for granted. We drive by, sit in the midst of, or even complain about (when the weather is less than pleasant) so many incredible vistas.

I am just thinking out loud here. But I believe the thing I am trying to put my finger on is the notion that all of it is sacred. All of it is Gods signature, His calling card, His reminders to us that He is the Designer, Creator and Sustainer of it all. I don't mean to imply that He is literally in all of it, but everything that He has made is good. He said so Himself. Yet even as I wonder at the beauty of it all, I am aware in my heart of hearts that my appreciation and praise falls far short of what is deserved. And too, even the beauty itself has fallen, with the rest of mankind, because of Adam's sin. It, like us, has yet to be restored to its original glory. I so look forward to that time, when all is as it should be, and God's perfect plan of redemption has come to fulfillment.

For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Romans 8:19-21)

Sola Deo Gloria

This is the most beautiful time of year, in my opinion, in my part of the world. The leaves are slowly transforming into a breathtaking array of color, and set against a piercing blue sky, it is a spectacle that can take your breath away. Even as they lose the last remaining leaves, I find the sight of bare trees against a dull, grey horizon hauntingly beautiful. More and more, as I consider God's handiwork in nature, I am compelled to marvel, and give Him thanks and praise for the glorious vistas that He presents to us every day.

This morning, over breakfast, I happened to glance at the cover of a magazine that my husband had been reading, and the words "Honor Nature" leapt out at me. The article talked about capturing the beauty and reality of nature in the artist's work. Nothing wrong with that. But the title is representative of an attitude in the world that falls so short of the truth. "Nature" as a whole, is nothing less than the outworking of an infinitely brilliant and benevolent Creator God. It is not, as some would indicate, a "Mother" or a force unto itself. No, it is designed, created, and controlled by the eternal sovereign of the universe. Of course, not everyone holds to this belief, but I stand on it, nonetheless. Hearing nature referred to as something that, in and of itself, deserves praise, respect, or fear, provokes a response of defense of the honor and glory of God in me. It is God, and Him alone, who provides the landscapes, the animal life, the sunrises and sunsets, that we enjoy each and every day. It is Him that has painted the beauty of nature on the canvas of the universe. He holds it all together, and is faithful to bring the seasons in their order, the rain on the just and the unjust. We would have no beautiful art, or music, if He did not inspire and equip those artists and musicians to try and capture the reality of His creation. To Him alone belongs the honor and the glory. There. Just had to say it.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.
It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens
and makes its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.
(Psalm 19:1-6)