For the Beauty of the Earth

Aurora Borealis, Alta Norway 26 Oct 2019

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands." Psalms 19:1 

On a cruise up the Norwegian coast to the Arctic Circle, Pat and I  were fortunate to see the  Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights. It was a spectacular display on the night sky. It is visible as dancing white-green clouds but if seen through the screen of mobile phones, IPad, using special camera apps, the colours become more vibrant with tinges of yellow and red in a largely green spectral background. 

I discovered that the Northern Lights experience is very unique to earth. The solar winds/storms emanate from the core of the sun and hurtle through the universe passing through the various planets as strong electromagnetic waves. However when reaching earth, these waves are deflected by earth's thin magnetic field, pass the earth by  and then are re-deflected backwards to the north and south poles.

Deflection of the Solar Wind

These re-deflected  waves now become visible in the visual spectrum especially the colour green. If the strong solar winds are not deflected it could cause havoc to earth's electronic and electrical systems as well as causing deleterious health effects. 

After  witnessing the Northern Lights, I cannot help but appreciate God's grace in enabling us to see the beautiful colours while at the same time protecting us from harmful effects. How fortunate for us! What a joy to be God's people and creation.   

Indeed when viewing these wonders of nature, we are confronted with an undeniable fact, how great is our God! God is ever present. We experience intertwining relationships, God with us and we with His creation, the good earth. We are reminded of two fundamental affirmations (Ref 1)  

    

• The earth is the Lord’s by creation

'The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and all who live in it.' Psalm 24:1

• The earth is given to the human race by delegation

'The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth He has given to mankind.' Psalm 115:16

·    Nature can teach us many things.

 

Psalms 19:2 states "Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night night they revealed  knowledge." 

T   William Wordsworth understood this revelation. He wrote in "Tintern Abbey", 

For I have learned

To look on nature, not as in the hour

Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes

The still sad music of humanity,

Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power

To chasten and subdue.—And I have felt

A presence that disturbs me with the joy

Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime

Of something far more deeply interfused,

Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,

And the round ocean and the living air,

And the blue sky, and in the mind of man:

A motion and a spirit, that impels

All thinking things, all objects of all thought,

And rolls through all things. 

     Wordsworth found God in the inspiration of nature, the Beauty of the Earth

For the beauty of the earth

For the glory of the skies

For the love which from our birth

Over an around us lies

Over and around us lies

Lord of all, to Thee we raise

This our joyful hymn of praise

For the beauty of each hour

Of the day and of the night

Hill and vale and tree and flow'r

Sun and moon and stars of light

Sun and moon and stars of light

For the joy of human love

Brother, sister, parent, child

Friends on earth and friends above

For all gentle thought and mild

For all gentle thoughts and mild

For each perfect gift of Thine

To our race so freely given

Graces human and divine

Flow'rs of earth and buds of heav'n

Flow'rs of earth and buds of heav'n

      
   Lionel

L

   Ref 1: John Stott, The Radical Disciple, Inter-varsity Press, 2010

The Love Of God

A Mural in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Jerusalem

'For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.' John 3:16

Christians understand the love of God as that love that compels the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for our salvation. While this atoning love of Christ's sacrifice is indeed the greatest love of all, many Christians have a very narrow, almost self-serving understanding of God's love; the love of God is all about us and our salvation. But God's love is far more than just for our salvation. It is timely for us to understand how deep and how wide, how ubiquitous and permeating the Love of God is not only to us but for the whole world.  

Allow me to share with you a remarkably tender video. This past week, my grandchildren were down with Covid. The eldest, James came down with Covid-19 and he kept himself to his bedroom, resting all day. Now the family has two pet cats who are lovingly close to the family, especially with our three grandchildren, James, Eleanor and Luke. The cats seem to know that the children are sick. Auri, one of cats, went to my daughter, meowed and then led her to James' bedroom beckoning her to open the door. She then got on to his bed and started comforting him.

What do you think of it? My first thought was that of reciprocal love. Pets are capable of empathy and often return the love and care expressed to them. Pets are especially sensitive and endearing towards their caring owners. Love and care received translate to love and care returned.

Another lingering thought is that this gesture by animals show the love of God expressed in all creation. So like all of God's creatures, humans are also capable of expressing God's love in the most loving and tender-hearted manner. Unfortunately. it is most tragic that sin prevents some of us from expressing that innate love of God.

The Psalmist extolled the Love of God manifested in all creation; inanimate and animate, physical and biological Nature

'Your unfailing love, O Lord, is a vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O Lord. How precious is Your unfailing love, O God. All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of Your wings. ' Psalms 36:5-7

O the depths and the ramifications of God's love. Thus, to see this love only from the perspective of salvation, however important it may be, is to miss this love altogether. We need to unpeel the camouflage that Satan and sin imposes on this love. We need to realise that The Love of God Is Greater Far than we can ever conceive.

The love of God is greater far

  Than tongue or pen can ever tell.

It goes beyond the highest star

  And reaches to the lowest hell.

The guilty pair, bowed down with care,

  God gave His Son to win;

His erring child He reconciled

  And pardoned from his sin.

O love of God, how rich and pure!

  How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure

The saints’ and angels’ song

When hoary time shall pass away,

  And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall;

When men who here refuse to pray,

  On rocks and hills and mountains call;

God’s love, so sure, shall still endure,

  All measureless and strong;

Redeeming grace to Adam’s race—

  The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
  And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
  And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
  Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
  Though stretched from sky to sky.

This love is anchored in us and St Paul boldly said that nothing can separate us from God's love.  

'For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.' Romans 8:38-39 

We have come in full circle, the Love of God seen externally and beyond us eventually leads to the Love of God felt within us; leading to our full salvation

'Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should how wide, how long, how high and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.' Ephesians 3:17-19 (NLT)

Lionel  

Look On Nature

‘When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?  And the son of man, that thou visitest him?’  Psalms 8:3-4 (KJV)

Bishop Robert Solomon opined that one of the spiritual disciplines is to train the soul by immersing oneself in nature like taking quiet walks in the picturesque countryside.

We had a family holiday in Wales once, Pat, Debbie, John and I in Oct 2004. I insisted on making a detour to visit the ruins of Tintern Abbey. I needed to see the hills that rise up from the valley of the River Wye. This was the nature scene that captivated the poet William Wordsworth when he wrote the poetic essay ‘Tintern Abbey.’ I studied the poem in school when I was 15 years old. It so inspired me that I had an urge to stand in awe of the natural surroundings, as viewed from the ruins of Tintern Abbey.

Since reading ‘Tintern Abbey,’ I have learned to view nature enrapt by worshipful thoughts and attitudes. Wordsworth wrote:

“For I have learned

To look on nature, not as in the hour

Of thoughtless youth; but hearing oftentimes

The still, sad music of humanity,

Nor harsh nor grating, though of ample power

To chasten and subdue. And I have felt

A presence that disturbs me with the joy

Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime

Of something far more deeply interfused,

Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,

And the round ocean and the living air,

And the blue sky, and in the mind of man;

A motion and a spirit, that impels

All thinking things, all objects of all thought,

And rolls through all things. Therefore am I still

A lover of the meadows and the woods,

And mountains; and of all that we behold.”

The Bishop and I know the secret that God is present in nature. Let us go out of our way to find those sublime moments that awaken our hearts and reach our souls. When surrounded by the simple beauty of the woods or the splendid panoramas of the Grand Canyon we will sense the subtle presence of God. It is a sweet and gentle presence. We come out of that experience matured, elevated, chastened and subdued.

When nature confronts us, we also sense the infinite gap between man and God; just how miniscule we are and how infinitely great God is. Like the Psalmist who contemplated the cosmos, we are left to wonder just why God would even consider us. 

"Reading about nature is fine, but when a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he experiences more than what is gathered from books, for they speak the voice of God." This quote from George Washington Carver, repeats the same realisation as found in Job, 

'But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.' Job 12:7-10

Yes, nature brings the realisation of the presence of God so we can confidently declare, "All things bright and beautiful; all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all!” Listen to this lovely song by John Rutter!

 

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,

Each little bird that sings,

He made their glowing colours,

He made their tiny wings.

The purple-headed mountain,

The river running by,

The sunset and the morning,

That brightens up the sky;

The cold wind in the winter,

The pleasant summer sun,

The ripe fruits in the garden,

He made them every one;

He gave us eyes to see them,

And lips that we might tell

How great is God Almighty,

Who has made all things well.

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

Lionel

Updated article. 1st Published 27 Jul 2009

Let Everything That Has Breath Praise The Lord

'The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.' Psalms 19:1

No one can ever look at the beautiful sunset and not recognise the God behind that beauty. Yes beautiful scenes in nature often causes us to be uplifted and praise God who is the Creator. This realisation, this moment of inspiration can be so breathtaking that it can bring tears to our eyes!

The Hebrew word, Kavod which is translated as glory, splendour or beauty actually means rich or heavy. The Jews would say a rich man is 'heavy with wealth' in the same way we might say a rich man is 'loaded.' The idea behind kavod is that when we experience God's glory, we are experiencing the weight of His goodness, the weight of His beauty, the weight of His mercy and the weight of His compassion. A beautiful sunset at a beach is an example of the richness of God's beauty. Ref 1

I love to travel and experience, firsthand, the wonders of the earth, the beauty of God's creation and feel an affinity to them. These are moments of closeness to God, a recognition that behind the spectacular field of daffodils is God's handiwork. William Wordsworth recognised this sublime and creative presence when he wrote:

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

Nature is a gift. Nature informs us who we are, the more we appreciate God's creation the more we will know ourselves. We become aware of the preciousness of life. Look At The World, a song composed by John Rutter celebrates this:

Look at the World: Everything all around us

Look at the world: and marvel everyday

Look at the world: So many joys and wonders

So many miracles along our way

Praise to the O Lord for all creation

Give us thankful hearts that we may see

All the gifts we share and every blessing

All things come of Thee

This realisation that God gives us the beauty of His creations invokes a emotional drive to praise and Christians surely love to praise. In recent years the Praise Worship as taken a life of its own; driving up the Christian music industry. But engaging in praise is not new,  in 1221, St Francis of Assisi wrote this canticle:

All creatures of our God and King,

Lift up your voice and with us sing,

Alleluia! Alleluia!

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,

And praise the Spirit, Three in One!

In 18th Century England, William Wilberforce wrote, "When engaged in worship, our souls seemed to become ignited with rapture" (Ref 2). It's spontaneous and often happens when we perceive a wonder of nature and then we can emphatically state, "Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord!"

Lionel

Ref 1: Dave Adamson. 52 Hebrew Words, Every Christian Should Know. Christian Arts Gift

Ref 2: William Wilberforce. Real Christianity, 1797 revised and updated by Dob Beltz Regal Books 2006.