Lord of the Forests, Deserts, and Mountains

Who is our King through the lens of creation?

One of the things that has been on my mind for the past couple of years is what our role is in creation as children of the Creator. It is a topic that was not often talked about or discussed around me growing up, and something that has becoming increasingly important to me to define.

Ever since I was a young boy I have felt closer to God when surrounded by nature. My family used to vacation in New Hampshire for one to two weeks during the summer months and being completely surrounded by flora and fauna for miles and miles on all sides as I got older seemed to hold some kind of spiritual significance for me. I now know that this is a sentiment that is shared by many other Christians, I am sure including many of you reading this; and it raised the question in my mind of why? I have spent some time thinking about it and I believe that it is because when I am miles into a hike and surrounded by trees, mountains, streams, and plants of all kinds, I am surrounded by His original design. When we are in our cities, towns, and homes, we are surrounded by our creations - simple manipulations of what God already constructed at the beginning of time. When God created the earth, He had the power and ability to create anything, and what He created was very intricate and specific. He didn't place Adam and Eve in wooden and metal constructed houses, and He didn't task them with manufacturing products or selling insurance - their home was a beautiful garden, and their jobs were to steward and have dominion over God's amazing creations. 

Disclaimer: I am sure that some of you may be raising an eyebrow at this point but hear me out. I am not condemning all of our inventions, technology, and culture as evil. God also created us, and being made in His image we have a propensity for design and creativity as well, and those things can be very good. However, how closely have we admired and respected God's original design?

A few weeks ago I had a thought about God. For any of you that have read any fantasy novels or mythology, there was a part of my imagination that was drawn to picture God (the one true God, Yahweh) as a nature God; covered in moss robes, tending to birds, beasts, and plants and bringing life to creation. I immediately brushed off this thought and imagery thinking to myself, "That is a silly narrow minded picture of God. I must be drawing too much from my imagination." But then, I realized something. God is most definitely the Lord of nature. While it may only be one small facet of the personality of our mysterious and all powerful God, it should be a pretty significant one to us. Consider this - if we were born thousands of years ago before industrialization and modern technology, what hints would we have about the beauty and nature of our God? His creation. And what is the over all aesthetic and design of His creation? It is made up of naturally growing and living trees and plants and ecosystems that are all intricately interconnected in order to maintain balance and order. God's design was not a house built of wood, or a car made of gears and cogs, but a living and changing world - a garden for us to call home and take care of.

“For His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse.” - Romans 1:20

It is for this reason that I am not in the least bit surprised that I feel more at home sometimes on a hike than I do in my own house. But I have still left my original question unanswered - what is our role in this amazing creation? Well, our number one purpose is to worship and bring glory and honor to Him. So how do we do that when it comes to creation and nature? I would say by taking care of his masterpiece. This world that we live in is a remarkable artwork that was created by the King of the Universe, and I say that we would do well to respect His handiwork and protect it. 

Unfortunately environmental conservation and protection has become a heavily politicized topic of conversation in the United States, and as a result, many God fearing Christians have avoided it. But the truth is that it is not a matter of politics at all. I believe that it is a matter of worship, and respecting God to take care of what He has given us, regardless of your political beliefs. Our faith and responsibility as citizens of God's kingdom should hopefully take precedence over those secondary values and opinions anyways.

Pray and ask God this week about what ways you can worship Him through your stewardship and enjoyment of His creation! What things about nature do you take joy in? What things are you most thankful for in nature? What are some ways that you can directly take care of and steward the environment you live in as an act of worship to Jesus, the King of nature?