The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
— Psalm 19:1
To persons brought up in the Judaeo-Christian tradition the thought that anyone should actually worship nature seems absurd, but we have only to step across into almost any of the cultures we call pagan to learn that such worship has been and still is common enough. Indeed there is scarcely a natural object anywhere that has not been worshiped by someone.
The created world is to be prized for its usefulness, loved for its beauty and esteemed as the gift of God to His children. Love of natural beauty which has been the source of so much pure music, poetry and art is a good and desirable thing. Though the unregenerate soul is likely to enjoy nature for its own sake and ignore the God whose gift it is, there is nothing to prevent an enlightened Christian who loves God supremely from loving all things for God's dear sake.
This would appear to be altogether in accord with the spirit of the psalms and the prophets, and though there is less emphasis upon nature in the New Testament much appreciation of natural things may be found there also.
thought
The created world declares God's glory but so many of us fail to hear that proclamation. Rather than the Creator declared, some worship the declarer
prayer
Your awesome creation witnesses to You the Creator, Lord. There is no creation without a creator. Your creation declares Your glory. So would I.
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
— 1 John 2:15
The New Testament teaches that to be a follower of Christ it is necessary that a man turn his back upon the world and have no fellowship with it. Our Lord drew a sharp line between the kingdom of God and the world and said that no one could be at the same time a lover of both. This was also the teaching of Paul, James and John (2 Corinthians 6:14-18; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17). It is therefore of critical importance that we who claim to be disciples of Christ should check our relation to the world. The question of the Christian and the world is not, however, as simple as it might seem.
There is much difference of opinion among Christians as to what constitutes the world. Before we can be sure of our relation to something we must first know what it is. The fact is that two worlds coexist around us. One God made out of nothing; the other man made by taking the materials that originally came from God and fashioning them into a moral caricature of the original.
thought
John's prohibition against loving the world or anything in it could hardly be directed toward the natural world or the world of people. Jesus lived in both and so do we. No, it is the world system controlled by Satan that is our adversary ? one not always easy to detect.
prayer
Father, give me discernment to recognize the world system and, in recognizing it, to turn from it.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
— John 14:27
The remedy for distractions is the same now as it was in earlier and simpler times, viz., prayer, meditation and the cultivation of the inner life. The psalmist said ?Be still, and know,? and Christ told us to enter into our closet, shut the door and pray unto the Father. It still works.
?Let us return to ourselves, brothers,? said the Greek saint Nicephorus, ? . . . for it is impossible for us to become reconciled and united with God if we do not first return to ourselves, as far as it lies in our power, or if we do not enter within ourselves, tearing ourselves ? what a wonder it is! ? from the whirl of the world with its multitudinous vain cares and striving constantly to keep attention on the kingdom of heaven which is within us." Distractions must be conquered or they will conquer us. So let us cultivate simplicity; let us want fewer things; let us walk in the Spirit; let us fill our minds with the Word of God and our hearts with praise. In that way we can live in peace even in such a distraught world as this. ?Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you."
thought
Experiencing God's calm in all of the noise of life will mean choosing the simpler life, conquering the distractions and daily walking by the Spirit. Are we ready to so live?
prayer
I want to know Your peace, Lord, not mine but Yours. Peace despite problems, turmoil and all the distractions. You have given me Your peace. May I receive it and live in it.
But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.
— Deuteronomy 4:29
In the normal course of things a certain number of distractions are bound to come to each one of us; but if we learn to be inwardly still these can be rendered relatively harmless. It would not be hard to compile a long list of names of Christians who carried upon their shoulders the burden of state or the responsibilities of business and yet managed to live in great inward peace with the face of the Lord in full view. They have left us a precious legacy in the form of letters, journals, hymns and devotional books that witness to the ability of Christ to calm the troubled waters of the soul as He once calmed the waves on the Sea of Galilee. And today as always those who listen can hear His still, small voice above the earthquake and the whirlwind.
While the grace of God will enable us to overcome inevitable distractions, we dare not presume upon God's aid and throw ourselves open to unnecessary ones. The roving imagination, an inquisitive interest in other people's business, preoccupation with external affairs beyond what is absolutely necessary: these are certain to lead us into serious trouble sooner or later. The heart is like a garden and must be kept free from weeds and insects. To expect the fruits and flowers of Paradise to grow in an untended heart is to misunderstand completely the processes of grace and the ways of God with men. Only grief and disappointment can result from continued violation of the divine principles that underlie the spiritual life.
thought
Even though scattered among the nations and subject to cultural influences drawing them from God, if Israel will seek God with all their heart and soul He will be found. So with us today. Surrounded by evil influences and a myriad of distractions, we may find God if we seek Him with heart and soul. Are we so seeking Him?
prayer
Forgive me, Lord, for cluttering my life with unnecessary distractions. I throw them aside and look to You.
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
— Psalm 130:5
And what is the devotional mood? It is nothing else than constant awareness of God's enfolding presence, the holding of inward conversations with Christ and private worship of God in spirit and in truth. Public worship embraces the community of believers and is genuine only as the individuals who compose the company assemble in the mood of reverent devotion. Anything short of this is sheer formality and must surely be unacceptable to God.
Among the enemies to devotion none is so harmful as distractions. Whatever excites the curiosity, scatters the thoughts, disquiets the heart, absorbs the interests or shifts our life focus from the kingdom of God within us to the world around us ? that is a distraction; and the world is full of them. Our science-based civilization has given us many benefits but it has multiplied our distractions and so taken away far more than it has given.
One thing is certain, however: we cannot turn the clock back to quieter times, neither can we hide from the persistent clamor of the 20th century. We must learn to live in such a world as this and be victorious over it.
thought
The telephone, e-mail and internet, TV, books and magazines, other people, things to do and the swirling mind. We are mired in the midst of distractions! But despite it all and in it all, God is there and with Him we can engage in heart communication.
prayer
Despite those endless distractions You are there, Lord, You are there. And with You I may walk and talk and listen. Thank You!
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
— John 15:4
Maintenance of the devotional mood is indispensable to success in the Christian life.
Holiness and power are not qualities that can be once received and thereafter forgotten as one might wind a clock or take a vitamin pill. The world is too much with us, not to mention the flesh and the devil, and every advance in the spiritual life must be made against the determined resistance of this trinity of evil. Gains made must be consolidated and held with a resolution equal to that of an army in the field.
To establish our hearts in the devotional mood we must abide in Christ, walk in the Spirit, pray without ceasing and meditate on the Word of God day and night. Of course this implies separation from the world, renunciation of the flesh and obedience to the will of God as we are able to understand it. |
thought
Remaining or abiding in Christ as a life habit is the key to spiritual fruitfulness. He is the vine, the channel of life to the branches. He produces fruit through the branches. To be a fruitful branch will mean for us to continue remaining in Him.
prayer
Lord, I have so much to learn in cultivating the devotional mood. By Your Spirit, teach me.
�I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. . . .
— �Ephesians 1:18-19a
� God has given us a broad world of truth for our spiritual and intellectual habitation. This universe of truth is to the human soul as limitless as the air to a bird or the sea to a fish. There the Christian mind can luxuriate at perfect liberty. While the ages unfold the believer will need no more than has been already given, for it represents the broad and manifold will of God, the happy home of saints and angels. This vast sea of truth is expressed in nature, in the Holy Scriptures and in Christ, the Wisdom of God incarnate. Its rational phase can be reduced to a creed which may be learned as one would learn any other truth, and which when so learned constitutes Christian orthodoxy, best and most perfectly embodied in the beliefs of modern evangelical Christianity.
But we must also remember that orthodoxy is not synonymous with Procrustean uniformity. We may bring every thought into accord with divine revelation without sacrificing our intellectual freedom. We can be orthodox without becoming mentally stultified. We can believe every tenet of the Christian creed and still leave our imagination free to roam at will through the broad worlds of nature and grace. We are free but not ?freethinkers.?
thought
�Some of us cling to a few Bible verses and scraps of doctrine. But God's revelation is to us a sea of truth in which we may freely roam and be taught by the Spirit thereby growing in knowing Him.
prayer
�Lord, may I have the good sense to launch out into the deep truth You have made available to Your people. May I grow and grow and grow in You.
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. . . .
— �Ephesians 1:18-19a
God has given us a broad world of truth for our spiritual and intellectual habitation. This universe of truth is to the human soul as limitless as the air to a bird or the sea to a fish. There the Christian mind can luxuriate at perfect liberty. While the ages unfold the believer will need no more than has been already given, for it represents the broad and manifold will of God, the happy home of saints and angels.
This vast sea of truth is expressed in nature, in the Holy Scriptures and in Christ, the Wisdom of God incarnate. Its rational phase can be reduced to a creed which may be learned as one would learn any other truth, and which when so learned constitutes Christian orthodoxy, best and most perfectly embodied in the beliefs of modern evangelical Christianity.
But we must also remember that orthodoxy is not synonymous with Procrustean uniformity. We may bring every thought into accord with divine revelation without sacrificing our intellectual freedom. We can be orthodox without becoming mentally stultified. We can believe every tenet of the Christian creed and still leave our imagination free to roam at will through the broad worlds of nature and grace. We are free but not ?freethinkers.?
thought
|Some of us cling to a few Bible verses and scraps of doctrine. But God's revelation is to us a sea of truth in which we may freely roam and be taught by the Spirit thereby growing in knowing Him.
prayer
�Thank You, Lord, by Your enablement I can be different from what I have been and even from those around me. I can be different for You.
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagernesss and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
— �Acts 17:11-12
Equality of opportunity should be granted to all; after that everyone is on his own. No institution can add to or take from the original human stuff the student brings to class with him. After years of observation I am forced to conclude that some persons simply cannot profit from their educational opportunities. Beyond providing them with a few items of information they might not otherwise acquire, a college course does them little good.
Their years of enforced study leave them without improved tastes, without perspective and without wisdom. Some persons can gain a good education from life; others cannot manage to become educated by life plus long years in the best institutions of higher learning. Yet our educators continue to apply their Procrustean rules to each new generation, stretching and cutting till they achieve a uniformity Mother Nature obviously never intended.
In the field of religion things are no better. Within the holy precincts of the church Procrustes works on, cutting and tugging till everyone looks, thinks and acts like everyone else. To achieve this he must destroy our originality, make us afraid to be different and persuade us that conformity is synonymous with godliness and nonconformity a sin. And this he does with astonishing success.
Experience proves that uniformity almost always degenerates into mediocrity. It is easier to go down to the contented many than to rise above them; it is easier to memorize than to think through; it is easier to imitate than to initiate. . . .
thought
Uniformity or uniqueness ? most of us possess both but uniqueness is usually the lesser. The giants of the faith have been markedly different than the masses of Christendom. Christlikeness and a deep hunger for God made them unique.
prayer
Thank You, Lord, by Your enablement I can be different from what I have been and even from those around me. I can be different for You.