Creation

Creation Tells the Easter Story

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Doug Gilmer

For many of us, the significance of Easter to our faith is not lost. It is this weekend each year we celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the new hope for all mankind, for all eternity. For many others, even without entertaining the religious importance, Easter is still a major event filled with egg hunts, Peeps, jelly beans, and rabbits. Whether Easter for you is a religious holiday or a candy holiday the fact remains, twice a year the world stops and celebrates holidays having to do with the life of Christ. Jesus is undoubtedly the most pivotal figure in all of history and his story the most compelling.

I find it interesting how even creation, the natural world around us, seems to welcome and usher in this special holiday. Take for instance the pine tree. Each spring, right before Easter, certain pines will sprout shoots shaped like crucifixes. It is truly an amazing thing to see and the regularity and accuracy of their appearance around the Easter holiday is interesting. Although there is obviously no evidence to suggest pinePine+Tree+Cross4_JPG trees have any knowledge of Easter, some say they are divinely inspired as a reminder to the world  of the price Jesus paid on the cross over 2000 years ago. One has to admit the irony, or the divine, in seeing hundreds of small white crosses suddenly appear in the trees in the days leading up to Easter. In similar fashion, the Easter cactus is so named because it blooms at Easter. And who can forget the Easter lily`.

Consider too the mighty white oak tree. Each fall its leaves turn brown, appearing dead. Yet, instead of dropping its leaves, the white oak holds its leaves until this time each year when the new life inside springs forth and pushes the dead away. In scientific terms, this is called marcescence. Many experts believe the dead leaf hangs on so as to in tomb what lies beneath, protecting and shielding it from the elements and outside influence. As the weather begins to warm and the new bud awakens, it springs forward, pushing the old, dead leaves aside so life can begin anew.  Do you see any parallels between the white oak and the Easter account? Death, a tomb, and new life.

Psalms 92:12-13, written hundreds of years before Christ, seems to indicate nature’s announcement of the Lord is truly of the divine.

Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;   let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.

 Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness. (NIV)

The spring is an amazing time to be outdoors. All around us we see the earth spring forth new life and a new sense of hope.  With new life and new hope as central themes in the Easter story maybe we would all do well by getting outside this weekend. Take a walk and look for the many ways creation speaks to the Divine and it’s to ability to silently, yet in full color, share the greatest story ever told. We will never have clearer view of the Easter story as it unfolds around us through God’s creation in all its jubilance, joy, and rejoicing.

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You Have No Excuse. The Daily Devotion for January 20

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Doug Gilmer

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 HCSB)

Have you seen Him? He is hard to miss. Who, you ask? God.

One needn’t look far to see God’s handiwork and recognize His presence. It is all around us. God’s existence is evident through that which He has created and through this His divine attributes are made known. It is so evident in fact, we often take it for granted and fail to notice it for what it truly is. But just because we fail to notice it doesn’t mean it is not still there. We see it but don’t necessarily take the time to recognize its significance. That’s not God’s problem, it is ours.

Paul says people are without excuse for not accepting a worldview and belief system which acknowledges the existence and presence of the Divine Creator. I like to say that creation is the greatest evangelist. Don’t misunderstand what I am about to say but we can preach all the sermons in the world, broadcast the gospel message around the world on TV and radio, and write countless best sellers on the Christian faith, but the entire time creation is preaching its own message to all mankind, everywhere, and is doing so without our help. This is not to say we should stop proclaiming God’s message of grace and love through any and all means we can, however, creation’s witness to the power and glory of the Almighty God cannot be censored, turned off, or tuned out. One can take it for granted or even refuse to acknowledge it’s source but it cannot be ignored. People are without excuse.

Many people I talk to describe their outdoor experiences in spiritual terms. Many who are not even “religious” speak of a spiritual connection to the outdoors. I can’t help but believe that what they feel, regardless of what they believe, is the very inescapable, undeniable, witness of God through His creation. After all, to acknowledge the very existence of a spiritual connection is really to acknowledge God the Creator. The earliest use of the word from which we get the term “spiritual” is found in the book of Genesis as part of the creation story. In chapter 2:7 the Bible tells us that “God breathed the breath life into man”. It is from this phrase that we see God’s creativity exercised in a “spiritual” manner through the breath of life. It is God’s first spiritual act and it is from this phrase in the original Hebrew we get the modern word “spiritual”. To acknowledge the “spiritual” one either knowingly or unknowingly acknowledges it’s Divine origin. If the earth was not created by God and was instead the result of nothing more than random chance and void of true meaning and purpose why would we ever acknowledge the spiritual? To acknowledge the spiritual is to accept the idea there is something greater the ourselves and it opens the door to the possibility everything exists the way it does because God created it.

And in fact He did.

If man is without excuse on account of clearly seeing God through that which He made maybe our churches and ministries would be more effective if they occasionally moved outside where it’s members could be witnesses to God’s divine attributes. Abraham had no real understanding of God nor God’s plan for his life until God “took him outside” his tent and told him to look up at the night sky (Genesis 15:5). People today probably are not that much different.

What does being out in the midst of God’s creation say to you about the One who created it? What feelings do you have? What kind of spiritual connection is there? Whatever it is, I would bet it is not just mere random feeling or emotion. It is in fact God’s witness to you of who He is through that which He created. Go outside and take a long hard look. You might be able to deny it but you cannot ignore it. Once you have seen His creation your are without excuse.

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Do the Deer and Turkeys Know its Christmas?

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Doug Gilmer

All of my kids at one point or another growing up have asked the question, “Dad, do you think the deer and the turkeys know its Christmas?” The more I have thought about this over the years the more I realize this is a really good question and has much deeper implication than that of a young child’s curiosity.  

Do animals have the ability to know its Christmas? My general answer to my kids is no they do not. Sometimes this has been followed by their response, “But they know when it’s hunting season.” Of course that is true but it is because their space is being invaded by people shooting at them. The animals get conditioned and they become wary. An animal’s reaction to external stimuli is much different though than that of knowing a particular day of the year on our calendar is designated Christmas. Most scholars believe that Jesus was not born on December 25 or even anywhere close to this date. In fact, many experts and even tradition holds that the birth of Christ took place in the spring. The truth is, no one knows an exact date. It was the church in Rome that decided in back in the fourth century that December 25 would be the day the Lord’s birth was celebrated. So if December 25 is not really the day Christ was born and since deer and turkeys do not have a calendar to tell them this is the date we choose to celebrate the birth of Christ it would stand to reason they don’t know.  

Still the issue is not easy to gloss over. If we read the story of the birth of Christ we notice that animals in fact did play a very significant role in this historical event.  

Mary most likely rode a mule to Bethlehem as she was quite pregnant an unable to walk that distance. If you recall from scripture the angels first announced the birth of Christ to a group of shepherds keeping watch over their flocks at night. And who can forget the fact that Jesus was born in a stable. I wonder if the mule Mary rode, the sheep in the audience of angels, and the animals present at the birth of Christ had any idea they were part of the Christmas miracle. 

Scripture is clear about the fact that animals do praise their Creator. Exactly how this works I do not know. What I do know is that Psalm 148 tells us, “Beasts and all cattle; Creeping things and winged fowl; Kings of the earth and all peoples; Princes and all judges of the earth; Both young men and virgins; Old men and children. Let them praise the name of the LORD, For His name alone is exalted; His glory is above earth and heaven” (vv.10-13 NASB). Psalm 150:6 says, “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!” The fact that animals have breath would seem they are included in this. Even in the New Testament book of Revelation we are told at least eight times that all animals acknowledge God’s presence and offer worship and praise to Him.

I wish I knew exactly how this worked. I would like to know what the animals that were a part of the Christmas story knew or thought. For certain the deer and turkeys my kids asked about, and maybe yours too, do not know that Sunday is December 25. Yet at some level they still praise their Creator. Their ultimate purpose, as told in Psalms 19 and 104, is to glorify God. And, by the way, that is our ultimate purpose as well.

Christmas aside, if God’s ultimate plan includes praise and worship from the beasts of the field, whatever that might look like and however that might occur, what more do you think he expects of us? For I know, unlike the deer and the turkeys, that Sunday is December 25th and though I also know it is likely not the actual day on which Christ was born, that God became man, it is the day we set aside to recognize the incredible miracle and celebrate this most marvelous gift. And because I know, as do you, our responsibility is greater to make the most of this special day.

This Christmas give pause to think about marvelous it would have been to even be one of the animals that witnessed the birth of the Savior or otherwise somehow took part in this miracle. If they could somehow comprehend what they were experiencing how do you think they would have felt? Then remember, you are still part of the Christmas story today. Whether on December 25 or any of the other days of the year, the miracle of Christmas and Emmanuel, God with us, still lives today. Each day you are witness the marvelous story and its divine purpose for your life.

 

 

 

 

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