Hello,
There’s no place like western Pennsylvania in the fall to experience the
beauty of creation. We aren’t
there yet, but the beauty is beginning to blossom. In these late summer months the field behind our house has
begun to shimmer with the golden rod just in time to accent the dark purple
flowers of the Joe-Pye weed.
There are still a few bright orange Butterfly Weed that had reached
their prime a couple of weeks ago, and the Heliotrophe (aka, False Sunflower)
that stands 8 feet tall lines the paths that we cut through them when they were
just a few inches tall. The Queen
Ann lace has begun to set its doilies on the field grass, and the Milkweed is
ready to dust the land with its snow.
And this is only the beginning!
Wow!
I often hear people talk about nature’s testimony to the existence and character of God as they cite the
awesome beauty of nature that amazes them(and me) , but amid the beauty there’s
also the opposite. There are
storms that bring devastating hail and winds. There are earthquakes and floods. Garden plants once full of the fruit of the vine begin to
wilt and decay. Cold winds chill
parents at soccer games and homeless people on the street, and the daylight
disappears into darkness.
To
me, nature paints a very confusing picture of God. One might stand in awe and wonder at the beauty of all that
is around us, but at the very same time one certainly stands in confused
disbelief when famines bloat the stomachs of children. Actually, the randomness of nature might
lead one to all the more distrust the God that is seen behind it than to
believe in that One, and in our ever increasing knowledge of nature some are
led to see even less of God in it.
From the very beginning of the Christian faith, it has not been nature
that has stirred belief and trust, but ironically something that had previously
been used to create fear and terror….the cross. In the cross of Calvary, the cross on which Jesus hung,
there is a clear picture of God’s character and power. With an eye on the cross one can see
nothing but sheer grace and mercy (7Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though
perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8But God proves his love for us in
that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.(Romans 5)), a
beauty far more beautiful than sunset and fields of flowers. With an eye on the cross one can see
nothing but ultimate power (10The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he
lives, he lives to God. (Romans 6)).
True, it takes eyes of
faith to see these things in the cross, but just like a lover seeks to
transform the eyes of the one who is loved into eyes of love….so, it seems
reasonable to me that the One upon whom I can place my trust in life and
in death would be seeking to
transform my eyes into eyes of faith and trust….and your eyes, too.
Don’t get me wrong. My
heart is stirred by the beauty of the creation, and my doubts are likewise
stirred at the heartless power in creation. But that is why I go to church on Sunday mornings….to hear
and see something that opens my eyes to that which wonder cannot capture and
confusion cannot destroy….the love of God with which God is wooing me…wooing me
so that I might live in peace, hope, and joy. And as I step into the darkness of death, I might lay myself
down in that same peace, hope and joy, resting in the arms of the one whose
hands have held me in life.
Have a great week.
God’s grace and peace,
(GGAP)
Pastor Jerry Nuernberger
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