I Thought You Must
Read: Psalm 19
On the way to work today I was
looking at a huge bank of clouds along the horizon. That made it look
as if I were approaching a mountain range. It was pretty much the
opposite experience to one I had in Fairbanks, Alaska, where we
suddenly realized that the clouds we were seeing on the horizon were
actually snow-covered mountains. I like it when my perception gets
turned around all of a sudden like that.
My best friend works for a
veterinarian, and she tells me some great stories of what goes on at
that clinic, and that clouds and mountains experience reminded me of
one of them. I'm probably going to get most of the details wrong, but
the details that actually matter are the ones I know I've remembered
correctly.
One day a client was dropping off
his cat for boarding as he prepared to leave on a short vacation.
They were chatting about where he was going (Alaska!) and how
beautiful it is there, especially in the summer when there's light
and you can see the sights.
While talking about the beauty of
nature, this client said, “I don't know if you believe in God; I
do, and I really think you must too, just from the way you are with
all of us and the animals.” She said she did, of course, and they
talked on, wondering how anyone could look at something like Denali
(or even Mt. McKinley) and think that beauty just kind of happened.
They talked about how Earth seemed
to be the only planet we've found that has anything like beautiful
landscapes. The others are either giant balls of gas or have rocky,
forbidding vistas that invite with their differences, but not with
anything like beauty.
They finally decided that God must
have made Earth the way it is so we could have a taste of the beauty
and joy that await us in Heaven with Him.
That's a really nice thought –
that God made the Earth for our (and His!) enjoyment, and I don't
doubt for a minute that that is true. However the most important
thing I got from that story, and what she wasn't actually telling me,
is that by her life she was letting people know that she belongs to
Jesus, and that He shapes her life and her living. There was no big
cross around her neck (nor on her collar), no band on her wrist, no
T-shirt, nothing like that. Instead there is a life living out her
faith for all to encounter and experience. Awesome.
Prayer: Father, thank You for making
the Earth as a place where we can enjoy the beauty of Your creation.
We ask that all we meet might see that beauty in nature, but more
importantly in us, as Your light shines from us through the Holy
Spirit. In Jesus's name. Amen
Charlie van Becelaere
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