Celebrate His Creation!
Earth Day: A whole day to celebrate God’s creation.
…Or at least that’s how I define it!!
Creation has always been a place of retreat for me. Ever since I was little, far before knowing my Creator, I couldn’t help but stand in awe of the snow-capped tops of the Cascade Mountains that surrounded me. I would stand in my backyard staring up at the evergreen trees, bewildered by their magnitude, drawn to the unique texture of each trunk and the detail in each leaf.
When I would consider creation, it was difficult for me to articulate how supernatural it felt to be so small as I took in the giant natural world around me. Clarity strikes in spectacular ways. When I came to know Jesus in 2023, Romans 1:19-20 immediately rocked my world:
“19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,[a] in the things that have been made.”
Whether you choose to believe it or not, God has shown Himself to all of us through His creation. Whether that be the expansive oceans with waves crashing against the shore, waterfalls cascading over jagged rocks in the middle of a dense forest, or mountains completely immovable and towering tens of thousands of feet over us– that is clear evidence of a creator, that is evidence of God. He surrounds mankind, it’s inescapable.
Have you ever been on a hike and listened to the wind whistling through the trees? Have you noticed how each bird sounds a little different when it speaks? How about the ocean's tide being rhythmic and without fault? Have you noticed that when you fly over mountain ranges, each peak is distinct? All of this is outpouring evidence of God’s imagination, worthy of all of our praise.
His imagination goes far beyond His love for nature around us. The Apostle Paul writes, “10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 ESV). We are His workmanship, His masterpiece - after creating male and female, our God took in all He had made and called His creation good.
It is essential to understand that when we worship and praise creation, we understand that we must also praise our Father’s imagination for creating us in His image. In the same way we look at the vast expanses of deserts and the vibrant hues of a sunset over the ocean, we too must look at humanity around us as image bearers of Christ, the masterpiece of His creation.
This Earth Day, I am reflecting on what it means to be a good steward of God’s creation. It is vitally important to praise Him for the blessings of the nature around us, and too we must praise Him for the breath in our lungs. He created so that we might enjoy the beauty of the natural world. He created so that His majesty might be reflected for all to see. But He also created us to reflect Him. Ultimately, He created so that we might find new life in Jesus Christ, and through that new life, we might not only be image bearers, but be sanctified to look more like His perfect son every single day.
As I celebrate creation and I praise God for this beautiful world, I praise Him for giving me Jesus. Without Christ, I would not be able to properly worship and praise our Father for forming nature around us. Jesus tells us that, “if these [people] were silent, the very stones would cry out” (Luke 19:40). So let us not be silent today. Let us cry out in praise and worship for our Creator.
Happy Earth Day! Thank you, Jesus!
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1).
