Various texts
I just spent eleven days in Ireland and depending on where you come from, the most amazing part of those days varies. For the Irish, the most amazing thing was that in those eleven days there were six sunny days, two days of rain, and three days of part sun, part rain. In the west of Ireland where we spent most of our time, there are an average of 225 days a year when it rains. Over and over again people told us how fortunate we were to be there for the sun. We were told it had been four years since there had been so much sun.
For those who live in Morocco, the most amazing thing was that Ireland was so beautifully green and, of course, there is a correlation between all the rain and the green of the land. We heard an Irish song titled, Forty Shades of Green, and saw most of those. Ireland is beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
There is a peninsula on the west coast of Ireland, Dingle Peninsula, the most western part of Europe, and the day we drove around this peninsula it was a beautifully sunny day with blue skies and wonderfully white clouds. At one point we climbed a hill and had a panoramic view of the hills and sea and I became overwhelmed. I took lots of pictures, trying to capture what I saw, but then that task was completed and I sat down just to look. What I saw was so beautiful I took more pictures and then realized this had to stop at some point. I sat and looked but there was simply too much beauty and I did not know how to take it in. I know I should have simply sat and appreciated all that I saw, but I kept asking myself, “What am I supposed to do with all this beauty?”
It is for that reason that I am preaching this morning about loving this world and will preach next week on longing for heaven.
To begin, I want us to watch a video of some of the amazing beauty of Africa.
How do you handle such beauty? In March 1999 Annie and I took our daughters on a safari in Tanzania and we saw many of the scenes in this video that are burned into my memory. It was an amazing week.
This video makes me think of what God had to say to Job. For 37 chapters Job and his friends gave opinions and asked questions about why Job had suffered so much and when God finally spoke to Job he did so with the equivalent of the video we just watched.
Job 38 & 39
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
39 “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
and satisfy the hunger of the lions
40 when they crouch in their dens
or lie in wait in a thicket?
41 Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?
1 “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?
Do you watch when the doe bears her fawn?
5 “Who let the wild donkey go free?
Who untied his ropes?
9 “Will the wild ox consent to serve you?
Will he stay by your manger at night?
13 “The wings of the ostrich flap joyfully,
but they cannot compare with the pinions and feathers of the stork.
19 “Do you give the horse his strength
or clothe his neck with a flowing mane?
26 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
and spread his wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle soar at your command
and build his nest on high?
We live in an amazing world. Let me share with you five truths about creation and then move to three appropriate ways we can respond to beauty.
In loving this world, the first truth to be acknowledged is that God is the creator of all we see.
The opening words of the Bible tell us this: (Genesis 1:1)
In the beginning God created
Psalm 104:24&30
24 How many are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
30 When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
Hebrews 11:3
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
There are some Christians who believe the world was created six or seven thousand years ago in six 24 hour days. Other Christians believe that the world was created over millions of years through the process of evolution. Whatever you believe, the truth is that God created. How he created is a subject for study, but however what we see came to be, God created the world we observe.
A second truth is that God delights in the diversity of life on Earth.
In the Genesis story of creation God creates and then makes his judgment about what he has created. At the end of each day, God viewed his work and pronounced it as being good. On day three he created plants and trees of various kinds. And God saw that it was good. On day five he created the creatures of the sea and the birds of the air. And God saw that it was good. On day six he created animals for the land. And God saw that it was good.
Genesis does not go into detail about the kinds of plants and animals he created but if you want to take a look at the incredible beauty and diversity of what he created, watch the BBC series, Planet Earth. I have watched this with my grandchildren and never get tired of seeing the amazing photography of life in forests, the sea, deserts, caves, in all corners of the earth. Planet Earth is a video presentation of Job 38-41 when God answers Job’s questions about suffering with an explosion of questions concerning how God created all that can be seen.
God created and then he sat back to evaluate his creation and pronounced it as good. God was satisfied, pleased with his creation.
A third truth is that creation belongs to God.
Psalm 24:1–2
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
2 for he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the waters.
I Chronicles 29:11
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.
God did not create and then abandon his creation. God is not an absentee landlord. God is present in his creation.
After creating the creatures of the sea and the birds of the air, Genesis says God blessed his creation: (Genesis 1:22)
God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.”
God loves his creation and wants it to thrive.
A fourth truth is that creation praises and worships God.
Psalm 66:4
All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name.
In Revelation 5:13 John writes:
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”
There are many verses in the psalms and prophets that speak about creation praising God and many of them could be metaphorical, but this verse from Revelation seems to be more than that. There is a reality to the praise of all of creation. Jesus affirmed this when the Pharisees told him to keep his disciples under control as he entered Jerusalem in a triumphant parade. (Luke 19:39–40)
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
In Romans 8:22 Paul speaks about creation longing for the redemption of the world. (Romans 8:22–23)
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
We are, apparently, not alone in longing for the final judgment when we, along with the earth, will be renewed and every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.
A fifth truth is that God speaks to us through his creation.
Theologians speak about General Revelation and Special Revelation. Special Revelation is the revelation about God through the Bible, miracles, and the person and ministry of Jesus. But God is not limited in how he communicates to us and General Revelation refers to the way God speaks to us through his creation. Paul speaks about this in Romans 1:19–20
what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
And Psalm 19:1–4 with its wonderful poetry makes the same point.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
Given these five truths about God and his creation, how can we respond to the beauty of his creation?
First of all we need to be grateful.
Why did God create such a beautiful world with so many vibrant colors and patterns? Why did God create so many species of plants and animals?
Annie Dillard wrote in her book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, “In nature, improbabilities are the one stock in trade. The whole creation is one lunatic fringe. If creation had been left up to me, I’m sure I wouldn’t have had the imagination or courage to do more than shape a single, reasonably sized atom, smooth as a snowball, and let it go at that.”
God’s creativity is unlimited. God did not create one species of fish or two or three but 27,300. There are 10,000 species of birds. There are an estimated 5,000,000 species of insects. Jack Haldane, a British biologist, humorously observed that “If one could conclude as to the nature of the Creator from a study of creation it would appear that God has an inordinate fondness for stars and beetles.”
We live in an extravagantly beautiful world and what is so amazing is that God has created us with the senses to appreciate all this beauty. God gave us the gift of creation and the ability to enjoy it. What can we say except, “Thank you.”
There is a great song, Voices Singin’ written by Richard Leigh & Billy Dean. I’ll post it this coming week in the RICEmail. For now let me read the lyrics.
I found some shade beneath a willow tree
I fell asleep and started dreaming
That everything created here on earth
all had voices singing
Every rock and every blade of grass
even the ivy that was clinging
Every leaf and every drop of rain
all had voices singing
It brought the angels down in my dream so clear
Then the Lord sat down so that he could hear
The sea and waves were rushing to the shore
with the joy that they were bringing
A sound so perfect that it made me cry
to hear their voices singing
And as the Lord sat down the angels hovered near
But they made no sound so that he could hear
I couldn’t help but want to add my own
to the praises that were ringing
Then over all the world there fell a hush
to hear my one voice singing
Hallelujah!
The first and best response to the beauty of God’s creation is to give thanks and allow it to move you to praise of the creator. My one voice singing praise does not go unnoticed and is not unappreciated.
A second response to the beauty of creation is to recognize that God has given us the responsibility of being stewards of his creation.
Genesis 1:26–28
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
We have been given the responsibility to protect and preserve our environment and part of the judgment of the world will be to punish those who destroyed the earth in their greed and indifference to God’s creative work. We see this in Revelation 11:18
The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great-and for destroying those who destroy the earth.
On May 21, 1972, a Hungarian born Australian, attacked Michelangelo’s Pieta on display in the Vatican with a hammer. The world was horrified and rightly so. The world also protested in 2001 when the Taliban began destroying ancient statues of Buddah in Afghanistan. Imagine what the world’s reaction would be if I were to buy a Rembrandt painting with an extra thirty million dollars I had sitting around the house and then burn it.
And yet every day we are damaging God’s work of art. We deface God’s creation on a personal level by littering, but on a corporate level the damage is done on a much larger scale. Oil companies have destroyed the beauty and fertility of the Delta region in southwest Nigeria. The greed of oil companies and politicians has taken away the livelihood of farmers and fishermen of that part of the world that used to be so beautiful.
When I walk along the street and see piles of garbage thrown over the side of a ravine, the ugliness offends me. This is not how God intended us to treat his world.
If any of you are ever put in a position where you can work to protect and preserve the environment, I want you to know that it is your God-given responsibility to do so and you will one day be judged for how you used the power and authority that was given to you.
There is a political correctness to being environmentally friendly and those efforts can too often be merely superficial, but at a deep level, we show respect for God, our creator, when we preserve and protect the gift of his creation to us.
In response to the beauty of the world we need to be grateful and allow ourselves to be led to praise. We need to take seriously our responsibility to protect and preserve our world. And thirdly, we need to allow God to speak to us through his creation.
There are two major ways God speaks to us through his creation. The first is found in Psalm 8.
1 O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
There is a wonderful movie, Grand Canyon, starring Danny Glover and Kevin Kline. In one scene they are sitting in Los Angeles and Danny Glover is talking to Kevin Kline about being at the Grand Canyon in the southwest of the US. The Grand Canyon is 446 km long, up to 29 km wide and attains a depth of 1,800 meters. It is called grand for a reason. The character Glover plays says:
When you sit on the edge of that thing you just realize what a joke we people are. What big heads we have thinking what we do is gonna matter that much. Thinking our time means diddly to those rocks. It’s a split second we’ve been here… the whole lot of us. And ONE OF US, heh, that’s a piece of time too small to give a name.
Kline’s character asks:
You trying to cheer me up?
Glover’s character replies:
Yeah, those rocks are laughing at me. I can tell. Me and my worries. Heh. It’s real humorous to that ol Grand Canyon. Hey, you know what I felt like? I felt like a gnat that lands on the ass of a cow that’s chewing its cud next to a road that you ride by on at seventy miles an hour.
This is what creation tells us, that we are not as big as we think we are. The universe does not revolve around us. Our problems are not the center of the universe. We are a small part of a much larger story. My happiness, my success, getting what I want is not as important as I think it is.
Creation helps us to gain perspective about ourselves.
A second way God speaks to us is found in Matthew 6 in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 6:25–34
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
When you read that in your apartment or villa it seems a bit abstract. But when you step outside and observe the birds and flowers and all of God’s world and then read those words, the truth Jesus taught becomes more real.
Wendell Berry wrote in The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays
I don’t think it is enough appreciated how much an outdoor book the Bible is. It is a “hypaethral book,” such as Thoreau talked about – a book open to the sky. It is best read and understood outdoors, and the farther outdoors the better. Or that has been my experience of it. Passages that within walls seem improbable or incredible, outdoors seem merely natural. This is because outdoors we are confronted everywhere with wonders; we see that the miraculous is not extraordinary but the common mode of existence. It is our daily bread.”
Sit and observe the beauty around you and then read Jesus’ words. The beauty of the birds soaring in the sky and the flowers sticking their heads up in fields and even in between cracks in the cement are wonderful but you are much more loved, much more beautiful in God’s eyes than they are.
The flowers come up and then die and then come up again the next season. The birds come and go but Jesus has worked so that you will live forever. You are so much more valuable in his eyes.
When you sit by the sea or in a field or among some trees and contemplate what you will do to get money for food and rent, whether or not you will get the job you want or pass the exams you are taking, whether you will find a spouse or how you will work out the tensions in your marriage, how you will survive the illness or death of someone you love, in all these things, when you sit and observe the beauty around you, hear the words of Jesus:
Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Here is what I would like you to do this week. Take some time to observe God’s creation. It is easier to see the beauty of creation in the plains of the Serengetti or in Ireland. It is more difficult to see the beauty of creation in a city, especially one that has litter scattered around. It is more difficult but the beauty is there if you look hard enough.
If you have a camera, take a walk around the block where you live and take 25 pictures of things that are beautiful to you. Ignore the rubble and trash and look for beauty. You will find it because God’s beautiful creation cannot be repressed.
Sit where you are comfortable and look up in the sky for ten minutes. Watch the movement of clouds. Follow the birds that soar overhead.
Take another ten minutes to sit and look at a tree and watch its leaves and branches move in the wind. Lose yourself in the life of that tree.
Then open your heart and express your thanks for the beauty God created. Give him praise for his creative work. Pick up some of the trash on the ground and put it in a trash can. Sit again, tell God about the struggles you are facing, and then pull out your Bible and read and allow God to speak to you.
In your villa or apartment, put beauty into it. Put a plant on the window sill. Feed it. Water it. Watch it grow. Put a bird feeder on the window sill and watch the birds who come to feed. We may live in a city but we can bring the beauty of God’s creation to us.
The creation of the world was no accident. The beauty we see around us is intentional. God is speaking to us through his creation. Listen to him, be uplifted, be encouraged, be moved to gratitude and praise.
