Creation Tells a Story

Scripture Reading:

O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.
    Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
    to silence the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars that you have established;
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
    mortals that you care for them?

Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
    you have put all things under their feet,
all sheep and oxen,
    and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
    whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

– Psalm 8, NRSV

Meditation

This summer, my wife and I rented a house on the quiet end of the beach for a week. We needed to get away, rest our eyes from computer screens, and recharge for many more months of isolation at home.

We do this every year (the vacation part), but this was the first year we took our dog, Finn. We got him when he was 12-weeks old. Now he’s 7-years-old and never ceases to bring us joy.

I’ve always thought that if you really want to dig deep into the world’s beauty, then you should watch animals interact with it.

One morning, I woke up about six o’clock to feed Finn and let him outside to do his thang. An early riser, I decided to sit on the back porch and enjoy the sunrise and salty beach air.

After a few minutes, I realized I didn’t see Finn, so I started searching the edges of the yard (his favorite places to ‘hide’) to see if I could spot him. Sure enough, I did.

Finn was standing in the middle of the flower bed, nose-deep in a purple trumpet flower, sniffing away. As he pulled his nose out, a small bee flew out of the flower and flew onto the next, covered in pollen. He watched it with crisscrossed eyes. 

And I smiled.

This creation psalm reminds us of the vastness and beauty of God’s creation. If you’re anything like me, you’ve read it a thousand times before and only thought, “Yeah, creation’s big. Yadda yadda…”

But creation tells us a story too.

The creativeness of God.
The beauty of humankind.
The fragileness of plants and animals.
And us too.

Exercise

So how are we supposed to respond to the crash of the waves, the buzzin’ of the bees, the wonder on a dog’s face?

If you’re like the psalmist, you simply declare, “O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name!”

Or you could write a psalm yourself.

Carve out 20 minutes today. Go sit outside or take a brief walk for 10 minutes. Allow your eyes to wander over the creation around you. What do you notice? What stands out?

Go home and spend 10 minutes writing a short poem/prayer to God, thanking God for the created world and giving God praise.

When you’re finished, tuck it away in your journal and read it on a day when you need a dose of wonder in your life.

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Kelsey Vincent, Pastor for Youth and Families, First Baptist Church of Decatur