The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein Psalm 24 v1 (KJV)
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou has ordained; What is man, that thou are mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; ... Psalm 8 v.3-4, 6 (KJV)
During our daily walks, we are struck by the beauty around us. The green leaves are beginning to change into colors of red, gold, purple and brown. Summer flowers still bloom in a rainbow of colors. Fall flowers continue the rainbow with yellow, gold, white, red, lavender and purple mums. With each season we are provided new and different sights and sounds to enjoy.
Sometimes, though, it is difficult to find beauty in our lives when so much of the world is in turmoil. We see and hear of violence, death and destruction whenever we open the paper or listen to the news of disasters - natural and man-made. From the same sources, we hear about hatred and fear, the poor and the lonely, the persecuted and the abused, the starving and the neglected, the terrorists and the terrified, the ill and the ignored, the desperate and the despairing ..... the list could go on and on.
With so much negativity around us, it is easy to forget the beauty that has been given us by our Lord. As written in the scriptures, we have a special place in His creation. Like gardeners in charge of a large estate, human beings are given dominion over the works of God's hands. This then raises important questions: How well are we caring for His creation? How well are we teaching future generations to preserve the environment and His works? How can we be better stewards of His creation? As we ponder these questions, we are reminded of a hymn sung at camp so many years ago:
For the beauty of the earth,
For the beauty of the skies,
For the love which from our birth
Over and around us lies:
Lord of all to you we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise."
Dear Lord, We thank You for all You have given us and entrusted into our care. Please guide and help us guard, protect, nurture and keep Your creation safe, peaceful and beautiful.
Contributed by Nancy and Michael S.
Sunday October 8, 2006
Liturgical Year B Week 46