On a recent morning walk to the woods, enraptured in a dazzling moment of joy I paused to lift up my hands in worship. My moment ended abruptly as someone called out, ”Praise the tree!”
Smiling, I responded, ”I’m praising the CREATOR of the tree.” She immediately shifted the conversation to the weather. 😉
Saddened that she couldn’t share my joy of communing with the Lord of creation, I got to thinking about what it would be like if we had no Creator. If all we had was the tree.
It seems so unnatural, distorted and bizarre, that many humans have chosen throughout history to worship the created thing – rather than the Creator. The Bible explains that all men have been given the opportunity to glorify God as our Creator. But once we start hardening our hearts and refusing to worship God, He gradually lets go. What a frightening thought!
It’s my guess that when we reject God and choose to offer our devotion to something immensely inferior, the reward is either an adrenaline high, or perhaps a false feeling of having done something “good.” There is also no obligation to repent of sin, and no threat of an interpersonal relationship.
The tragedy is that the counterfeit blinds us to the glory of the truth.
We live in a time where worship of the creation and not the Creator is clearly becoming the popular choice. I’m so thankful that in spite of our bent to rebel against God, in love and grace He still came down from heaven to heal our broken relationship with Him. The good news is that when we take that first step toward Him, to seek Him as our Creator and Savior Jesus Christ, the desire to know Him and worship Him just keeps growing.
I encourage you to look today for His love messages to you through His creation and His written Word. Not only can we have a personal relationship with the God of the universe forever, we can deeply enjoy His glorious creation now, and ultimately in the new heaven and earth.
There is nothing that could ever compare to knowing and worshiping God! PRAISE GOD!
