Creation is BIG; God is BIGGER; I am small

I've always had a healthy respect for nature.  I love it's beauty and am aware of it's strength.  I believe creation points to a powerful Creator.  With that being said, I wouldn't peg either Ron or me as "outdoors men."  Neither of us would consider camping or hiking an invigorating way to spend down time.  Chalk it up to really enjoying indoor plumbing, electricity, a bed, etc, we tend to enjoy nature from a distance. 

Interesting enough, the last two weekends were spent smack dab in the middle of nature, and I was reminded anew of Psalm 19:

 ¹ The heavens declare the glory of God,
   and the sky above^[a] proclaims his handiwork.
²Day to day pours out speech,
   and night to night reveals knowledge.
³There is no speech, nor are there words,
   whose voice is not heard.
⁴ Their voice^[b] goes out through all the earth,
   and their words to the end of the world.

Last weekend we were very blessed to be able to go to the beach for a long weekend with Ron's family.  His mom graciously rented an awesome house at Holden Beach, and the whole family gathered together for a fun filled vacation. 

Not having gone to the beach with kids before, I was unaware of all the creative ways to entertain children via sand and suds.  Ron's mom, Linda, was a pro!  She had a whole host of "tools" to engage kids for hours.  One of the most useful tools was the shovel.  Linda planted her chair on a flat area of the beach, drew a large circle in the sand, and then she, Emma (Ron's niece), and Lita (Emma's friend) went to town digging a minipool in the sand.  They dug for a long time, as in "two whole episodes of Dora the Explorer."  Then when their hole was large enough and deep enough, the girls would run to the ocean with their buckets and fill their pool with water.  The prize was being able to flail around in their ocean front pool.  Linda got all kinds of creative making a wall of sand castles around the pool.  Needless to say, I was very impressed with their work. (see image below)

As I looked around and even walked along the beach there was evidence of many more folks who had used the sand for entertainment.  There were giant sand castles, there were big holes, there were words written in the sand, there were foot prints.  As we left the beach, it was obvious that many had enjoyed the water and sand just as we did.

What was interesting to me was what I saw the next day as we came back ready to enjoy the beach.

All the toil of the previous day was laid flat against the ocean tide.  There was absolutely no evidence of the hard work Linda and co. had put into making their pool.  There were no sand castles, no footprints.  Just flat sand.  In that moment I was reminded of just how small human beings are.  Whether making sand castles at the beach to making international business deals, Ecclesiastes reminds us that actions of man are inherently "vain", "futile", "empty", "meaningless", "temporary", "transitory", "fleeting, or "a mere breath" as the lives of both wise and foolish men end in death.  The conclusion of it's author:   

Here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
   for this is the duty of all mankind.
¹⁴ For God will bring every deed into judgment,
   including every hidden thing,
   whether it is good or evil.

I'll come back to this powerful conclusion.  First, let me tell you about this weekend.  Ron's boss, Jim, invited his staff to join M.O.R.F. (Men's Outdoor Recreation Fellowship of Mt. Tabor Methodist Church...catchy, I know) on the Virginia Creeper Trail.  For those like me who are uneducated in the world of outdoor adventures, the Virginia Creeper is a 34.3-mile rail-to-recreation trail starting in Abingdon, Va., traveling through Damascus, Va. and ending just past Whitetop Station at the Virginia-North Carolina border.  The trail is divided into two sections: the first a 17 mile stretch from Abingdon to Damascus.  We packed our lunch, drove up to Virginia, rented bikes, and shuttled up to the top of the mountain.  As we took what seemed to be a really long DRIVE up the mountain I started to realize that this inexperienced biker was about to ride the whole distance down that we just drove up.  What in the world!

For the next four hours we cruised down the beautiful 17miles of trail.  We crossed over bridges, rode along a creek, ate lunch at an overlook, and generally enjoyed the beauty of being smack dab in the middle of nature. It occurred to me on mile 13 (roughly) that we were at the mercy of the trail.  We seemed to be in the middle of no-where with no cell phone and no idea of how to get back to our car apart from the trail.  We were surrounded by trees and the creek.  In that moment I felt very small and was reminded that creation is big and God is bigger.

So back to Ecclesiastes.  Since everything "under the sun is meaningless," the author concludes that one should "fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind."  Fear God because He is the omnipotence Creator.  Fear God because He is the one who will ultimately judge both the visible and the hidden.  Judgement points to what is "above the sun," that which is eternal.  Praise God that our judgement has been paid by Jesus, who came "under the sun" that we may be right with the One who made the sun.

And not only fear God, but obey Him knowing that His commandments point to the good order established by the Creator for His creation. 

Hidden...Restless...Wanderer

This week "Shamia" decided to go to Greensboro (If this doesn't make sense, read my previous post).  For one or several of a multitude of reasons she decided Anthony's Plot was not where she wanted to stay.  I wrestled in my heart to know how to respond to her when she called asking me to take her to Greensboro.  "You have other options?"  "Why wouldn't you want to stay in the beautiful community that is Anthony's Plot?"  "Is your Greensboro contact going to let you stay there indefinitely or will you end up in the same situation?"  "Are you going to call when you are homeless again?"  Each internal question was smeared with mixed emotions and motivations.  I couldn't help grapple with the question of whether I did enough. After asking God this question, I was encouraged by the Holy Spirit's confirmation that I (and Anthony's Plot of course) was obedient to care for Shamia during the days that God placed her in Winston-Salem.  She heard the name of Christ and saw His love and compassion displayed very visibly during a time of great need. 

So quickly she came into my life and now so quickly she is seemingly out.  And yet in the aftermath the image of a 21 year old woman who is in many ways hidden, restless, and wandering is seared in my heart.  This whirlwind brought me back to sin.  Not Shamia's sin specifically, but the general effects of sin in this world.

In Genesis 1 & 2 God creates and in His creation we see His character.  In the first two verses we understand Him as a God who will shape, fill, and enlighten.  This will happen fully in Christ who is foreshadowed in verse 3 (check out II Corinthians 4:6).  He creates all things as good; man and woman - created in His image - are very good.  In these opening chapters we see God creating His Kingdom.  God as Creator and King rules in such a way that His creation flourishes.  His intended order allows creation to thrive.  Although man has dominion over the earth, he is still subject to God.  It is when man attempts to be like God through disobedience that we see sin enter the world.  The effects are all encompassing and devastating!  Not only does sin seperate us from our Creator, but (as Tim Keller articulates) it also seperates us from ourselves, each other, and creation. 

In the next chapters of Genesis we quickly see the practical effects of sin:

"So the Lord God banished him (Adam) from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.  After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life." Genesis 3:23, 24

"Cain (who killed his brother Abel) said to the Lord, 'My punishment is more than I can bear.  Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth...'" Genesis 4: 13, 14 

Within the first two human generations, sin drives man from God's presence and results in restless wandering.  And it only gets worse.  By the eleventh chapter of Genesis, God has both destroyed creation (except for pairs of animals and Noah's family) because of the degree of wickedness that existed in man's heart, but also confused languages of peoples and scattered humanity across the face of the earth. 

This is the backdrop of God creating a people unto Himself - a group that was to be set apart, different, holy.  Whereas the effect of sin was that man is hidden, restless, and wandering, now God created a people who are found, have rest, and belong.  In God's Kingdom, His people are to care for one another so that no one among them in is need.  If there is a stranger among them, they are to be taken into their community.  This is the mandate for the church; a witness of being found by God.  Consequently it should grieve us to see a person who is hidden, restless, and wandering (both physically and spiritually).  We should long for them to be seen, known, and find a place of rest.

This of course is accomplished perfectly through Jesus.  He is the great finder of lost sheep and the one who gives rest.  In His family is a sense of belonging and purpose. 

With all this being said, what should my response be to Shamia?  The same as God's response to me.  In the words of the hymnist, Robert Robinson,

3. Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood;
How His kindness yet pursues me
Mortal tongue can never tell,
Clothed in flesh, till death shall loose me
I cannot proclaim it well.

4. O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

Shamia physical reality should grieve me (and I should seek to meet her physical needs) but more so it should point me to my spiritual reality.  Apart from Christ, I am hidden, restless, and wandering.  Praise God that I am found and at rest in Him.