Jumping the waves at the Great Salt Lake, Utah
Last week, I wrote of how we can meet with the same God in church or in the wilderness. The revelation may be a bit different, but it’s still the same Creator of the Universe.
Wildflowers en route to the Ski Bowl, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, California
For centuries, the Christians have tried to draw the hearts of the people around them to God. They have called it evangelism, spreading the Good News, reaching lost, and a host of other terms. For the purest hearted of them, they have longed to reveal the truth of Who God is to the ones who haven’t yet encountered Him.
Spires en route to Chesler Park, Canyonlands National Park, Utah
Romans 1:20 says, “[God’s] invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.”
The Palm Bowl, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California
It has been said that there is a God-shaped hole in each human’s heart and we all spend our lives trying to fill that hole. I think it’s a bit of a poetic explanation, but it there is a truth in it. Everyone in the world has a longing to know the one true God.
En route to the Zebra Slots, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah
It’s incredible how many of the begin their search in nature. They feel something there; something of God that gives rest to their restless searching, something that draws them in.
Heron in a canal, Holden Beach, North Carolina
Yet so many Christians are blind to it. They condemn the searchers – the “nature worshipers” – for their idolization of nature without realizing that these very people are on a spiritual journey. These individuals and groups are searching for something beyond culture and normal life. They have found the attributes of God in His creation. This shouldn’t be the end for these searchers; it should be the beginning of their discovery of all of Who God is.
Trail to Green Butte, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, California
As some hippies-turned-to-Jesus-people sang,
“Once I put my faith in man, and things done by hand
And found that I was wrong again, wrong again.
Then I thought it must be in trees and pretty things that help us breathe
But I was wrong again, wrong again.
And I know that there are those, that say He lied, He was a false teacher
But I know if you looked Him, straight in your eyes,
You’d find that He holds the keys to your life.”*
Asters near Grand View in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Would it be better for these searchers to go straight to the Source of nature instead of worshiping nature? Of course! But each of us is on a journey, and none of us had it all together when we met Christ. The good thing about the nature-worshiping crowd is that they are hungry for more. They aren’t satisfied with what the world has given them.
Near Skeleton Point on the South Kaibab Trail, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Perhaps our calling is to draw these people from the creation to the Creator. Not to hit them over the head with a Bible, but to be “little Christs” (that’s what the word “Christians” means) to them. To speak to them and act toward them with love without the hidden motive (which is never truly hidden) of building an organization or forcing them because “it’s the only truth” (which is true, but they may not be able to accept it yet – God can work on that). We can enjoy God’s creation in them and plant the seeds God has given us to help them, even if we don’t see the instant fruit of their salvation.
* “Last Day of My Life” by the 2nd Chapter of Acts, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yUUu528U90
