inverse

This past Friday, I posted a photo and Scripture encouraging us to see the Creator as we see His creation this weekend.

Through the oceans, mountains, and sky I had supposed by these verses that we would see God directly through what He's made... His creativity, His wisdom, His power, His faithfulness.

But what I didn't suppose this weekend was that I would see God's beauty inversely, through tragedy in creation. As you may be aware, our state of Colorado is literally up in smoke with wildfires. From our home, we've been watching a tremendous continual plume of smoke up north for a few weeks now, and we experienced another in our hometown this weekend.

Experiencing the smell of smoke, the haze in Colorado's typically brilliant blue sky, the dryness in the air, watching rescue aircraft and emergency vehicles, I thought about those verses again. I looked for Him, but initially all I saw was flame and smoke and devastation.

And then I saw Him.
Rather than seeing God in the likeness of this creation, this weekend I saw Him as set apart from it.
And then I worshipped.

A few verses in the Bible from Hebrews say,

You, Master, started it all, laid Earth's foundations, 

then crafted the stars in the sky.

Earth and sky will wear out, but not you; 

they will become threadbare like an old coat; 

You'll fold them up like a worn-out cloak, 

and lay them on the shelf.

But you'll stay the same, year after year;

you'll never fade, you'll never wear out.

Hebrews 1:10-12

While we pray for the firefighters and victims experiencing loss and while we pray for rain to drench this parched land, we find peace knowing that this world is not all there is. We can "come and worship" God knowing that He is eternal, a guaranteed place to invest our hope, our love, and our confidence. All the world's treasures will eventually wear out, grow old, disappoint... except Him. I'm relieved - quenched! -  that God is eternal, unchanging, and oh so treasure-able... oh, so worthy.

Growing up, I remember my pastor saying, "There are three things that are going to last: God, His Word, and people." This week, may you and I find immense value in caring for the eternal things that God has placed in our lives: our families, our children, our neighbors.