God Speaking

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” – Psalms 19:1

A little girl made a remark to her mother while viewing a new baby, “Why does God keep making new people? Why doesn’t he just keep the ones he has?”

I was thinking along those lines last week when I was walking in our local park and was suddenly overwhelmed by the beauty of one spectacular tree clothed in all the golden finery of Fall. I knew that in a few days time the wind would scatter those exquisite leaves to be tossed around hither and thither and the tree, now bare, would wait for spring when its Creator to begin the cycle all over again. What an extravagant gesture of God to allow us to enjoy that beauty over and over again. Surely it would have been easier to just make all the trees green and as the little girl thought, just keep the leaves you have.

The insect world is another example of the extravagance of God. What did the dragon fly ever do to be able to flaunt that iridescent blue on its wings as it dips and flies over the pond? Surely to give the butterfly those startling colours for just a day was such a waste. What precision it would take to paint those little black dots for the ladybug.

Some of God’s extravagance is plain for all to see, but what about that tiny perfectly formed bush orchid that is hidden deep in the forest? Only a few observant ones notice its soft hues and delicate shape and perhaps it just becomes trampled by a careless foot.

The jungle is extravagance supreme, from gaily coloured parrots to frogs with such vibrant reds and purples who are hidden so deep in the tangle of plants they are only visible to us through the powerful lens of the National Geographic.

The ocean must be God’s delight in creativity in both colour and shape, from beds of coral to undersea gardens to tropical fish, to myriads of tiny creatures that each have their own distinct shape and colour. One of my favourites is the clown fish who must have earned that name from its looks.

God’s extravagant gifts of beauty are his way of showing how much he loves the world that he created and how much he loves sharing it with us his children.

But of all God’s extravagant gifts to mankind one exceeds all the others. His love for us was so great that he counted no cost when he gave his son to die for our sins.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16

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