August 31, 2015

Genesis 1:31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

On Sunday we began a journey in our congregation with the book We Make the Road by Walking by Brian McClaren. One of the questions at the end of the first segment is “What is the most beautiful place you have ever seen? What was so special about it?” When I was younger I had the privilege of taking teenagers to a camp on Saranac Lake in the Adirondack Mountains of New York state. I loved the kids, I loved the role I got to play in their lives and the role I got to play at the camp, and I loved the lake surrounded by the fir tree covered mountains. Once a week we would take the campers on a hike to the top of Mount Ampersand. From the top you could see out across the Adirondacks and hear the wind whistle past your ears and feel the sun or the dampness on your skin depending on the day. Yeah, it was beautiful in a special way for me. If God stood on that mountain and saw what I saw I’m sure he would have pronounced it good. “What is the most beautiful place you have ever seen? What was so special about it?” The beauty of nature does not prove God in a mathematical/scientific sense, but it does require a response. Is the beauty of nature just the chance combination of elements that I happen to enjoy, or is it the manifestation of a goodness that we too were created to recognize and with which we can connect? What will you make of the beauty of nature this week?