Just now, at sunrise, I looked out my window and saw the trees to the west flooded in pink light. Juxtaposed behind this was a wall of deep blue sky. I watched in worship until the pink turned to grey-brown. I thought of yesterday's tragic fire in Paris -- the night-time lights of that famous cathedral were said to be breathtaking. Perhaps they will be again; there are stories Notre Dame holds that only God knows. A person who found a quiet corner to call out to Him there; a worker many centuries ago whose intent each day was to lift God's name with his heart and hands. These things, so precious to God, cannot be snuffed out. All mankind's handiwork will one day be gone. Even the trees will be gone, and He will make all things new. Yet there will never be a time when God's own handiwork will cease its resounding praise. How lovely it is to be part of this handiwork, and to worship Him as He writes His name across the morning sky.
0 Comments
This morning very early, I was lying awake listening to the birds. It struck me as I lay there that their choral praise absolutely fills the skies, in much the same way the angel song is said to fill heaven.
Of course! The things God has surrounded us with are pictures of what is in heaven, although heaven's version is purer, fuller, clearer -- untainted. The earthly version we see is far less than what it was originally created to be. We know this, in part from this passage in Romans: 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. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:19-23 So, this got me wondering -- not so much wondering as asking the Lord to begin revealing it to me... What other things in nature are pictures of heaven? Does the vast blue sky tell us something about God, or about His heaven? What about the rolling green hills? The trees? The butterflies? The wolves? The air we breathe? I don't have answers to these questions yet, and the answers you may receive if you begin to wonder these same things may differ from the answers I receive. But there is one thing I'm certain of: Everything God creates is designed in some way to reflect His glory, and to praise Him. Some mornings when the birds' pre-dawn ovation is especially spectacular, I almost wish I could join them. But, ah... what awaits us is sweeter, so much sweeter. And while we're still on earth, each of us has been given unique ways of serenading Him throughout the day. Let's fill the skies with His praise! |
All thy sins were laid upon Him, Jesus bore them on the tree;
God, who knew them, laid them on Him, and, believing, thou art free. Joseph Denham Smith (c. 1817-1889) Praise reflection archives
May 2020
Tags
All
...take root downward and bear fruit upward.
2 Kings 19:30 |