Read Psalm 104:19-24. 19He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting. 20You make darkness, and it is night, when all the beasts of the forest creep about. 21The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God. 22When the sun rises, they steal away and lie down in their dens. 23Man goes out to his work and to his labor until the evening. 24O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
The skeptic sees creation as the meaningless result of an evolutionary process brought about by random and unexplained causes.
The Christian sees creation as an expression of the manifold works and wisdom of God. God’s creation is meant to be explored and experienced. We can’t be wise ourselves without attuning ourselves to nature. God speaks to us through his creation. In it he reveals his love and grace, his power and purity. Even in the violence of nature we see the emerging beauty of new life.
Death leads to resurrection.
At its end, nature calls us to simply sit and soak in its beauty and majesty. A sunset. A mountain vista. A herd of elk grazing in a field. A patch of sunflowers growing on the side of the highway. What do we do? We stop and stare. We behold the work of the Lord.
And all of these works should draw our hearts to the ultimate work of the Lord – the life and death of Christ. The violence and beauty of the cross. The glory of that same violence and beauty being alive in us. At once killing us and resurrecting us to the new life of to live is Christ.
You: What examples of death and resurrection can you think of from nature?
You in Christ: Where can you see your union with the cross simultaneously killing sin in you and resurrecting new life in you?
Christ in you: How can you live from your resurrection transformation today (from caterpillar to butterfly)?
Pray: Father, I often race past and through nature without letting it speak your love and kindness to me. Help me to literally stop and smell the roses and allow my heart to be pointed to your greatest work – Christ in me. Amen.
To Live is Christ 