CREATION!

I was at the Isle of Skye last week with a couple of friends from church. Skye is a 650-sq. mile island (pop. 9,500) off the western coast of Scotland, about 250 miles from Aberdeen by road. What a stunning place! Stark and spectacular, raw and rugged. Dramatic mountains, dazzling lochs, imposing cliffs, impressive formations. (Not to mention a collection of fascinating castles; there I am at Armadale Castle, part of the holdings of the Clan Donald, overlooking the Sound of Sleat.) There is no question but that Skye is one of the most picturesque spots in this country. Photographers galore pay homage to this island all throughout the year, in weather clement or otherwise. If you come by Scotland, Skye is a must-see!

The magnificence of creation!

The heavens are telling
of the glory of God,
And their expanse
is declaring the work
of His hands.
Psalm 19:1

Indeed, God’s creation cannot remain silent. Every lofty mountain and every lovely dale bursts forth the glory of its Creator. His fingerprints are everywhere.

For since the creation
of the world
His invisible attributes,
His eternal power
and divine nature,
have been clearly seen,
being understood through
what has been made.
Romans 1:20

And all of this given to mankind to oversee and to steward.

When I consider Your heavens,
the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars,
which You have ordained;
What is man that
You take thought of him,
And the son of man
that You care for him?
Yet You have made him
a little lower than God,
And You crown him
with glory and majesty!
You make him
to rule over the works
of Your hands;
You have put
all things under his feet.
Psalm 8:3–6

This is quite a responsibility. Over His magnificent creation, we humans have oversight. Let’s take that call seriously. It is easy to be dismissive of our duty as stewards of His handiwork. After all, there’s going to be a new heaven and new earth, so why bother about this old one? That’s not very different from asserting we shouldn’t care for these bodies of ours, since we’re going to get new ones anyway, is it? New earths and new bodies notwithstanding, what God has entrusted to us we must care for. The Bible is clear about our being faithful to God for all that is given to us.

It is required of stewards
that one be found faithful.
1 Corinthians 4:2

Oh, and that part in Psalm 8:3 about creation being the result of the twiddling of a few divine fingers? All that splendid and sublime work and only a finger or two involved? Perhaps. But you know what it took for the “new” creation—the creation of a community of believers who have been eternally saved from the sin and its consequences?

While it took only fingers for the awe-inspiring grandeur of nature to be created, it took not only fingers, but hands, feet, whence sorrow and love flow mingled down. A mouth struck. A back flogged. A scalp torn. A side pierced. A heart punctured. A love poured out. For me and for you.

Jesus Christ. Made sin on our behalf. Forsaken by God. Because He cared.

For God so loved the world,
that He gave
His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes
in Him shall not perish,
but have eternal life.
John 3:16

For those who place their trust in Christ, believing in his death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sin, salvation is free. Are you there yet?