Listening to the morning sounds in the mountains, I hear birds tweeting and greeting. They call across the hills, “Good morning! It’s time to get up.”
God didn’t have to make birds sing. But He did.
The honeysuckle grows wild up the hollow. It’s a delicious treat for drivers who have their windows down. Autumn olives were quite fragrant a few weeks ago, drawing bees to make honey.
God didn’t have to make flowers smell. But He did.
My friend, Judi, and I are fixated on mimosa trees this week. I don’t know if you have them where you live, but they’re showing off around here. The leaves, lush and fringy, hold pink, puffy blooms that are a cross between a feather and a powder puff.
God didn’t have to do that. But He did.
All around us are magnificent displays of His loving kindness and amazing imagination just for us to enjoy. When Genesis records the creation of the world, it is written in 31 verses and six days. The span likely would not have been the 24-hour days we now observe. Without question, God could have done it in 24 or less.
I picture God and Jesus giggling as they made new life out of nothing. Like playdough, they shaped long-necked giraffes and fluorescent pink flamingos with the skinniest legs you’ve ever seen. They imagined and made peacocks that shake their feathers into a full-blown exhibition. Butterflies flutter from bloom to bloom - bright displays of perfectly patterned colors. On day five of creation, toucans, hummingbirds that can fly backward, and pterodactyls appeared.
God didn’t have to make such fun creatures with vibrant colors and characteristics. But He did.
My favorite animals have long been zebras, giraffes, and elephants whose skin begs for lotion. On an African safari last year, we saw water buffalo. Wow. Each one wears a metal-looking helmet with horns growing right out of their head. We saw countless zebras. Did you know that the stripes always go side to side on their behinds? It is an effective camouflage against predators. Hippos might look cute in children’s books, but they EAT people. Stay away!
Until my beloved became an avid hunter, I hadn’t realized there were so many types of deer. Have you ever heard the sound an elk makes? God made moose and caribou with antlers that look so heavy they make my head hurt. And those Dall rams with the curled horns? I thought an ibex (mentioned in Deuteronomy 14:5) was a deer but it’s actually in the goat family.
God didn’t have to go hog wild with so many animals. But He did. God could have made a beige world with no tweets, smells, or mews. But He didn’t.
His crowning glory of creation was man: the pièce de résistance. He had made the sun, moon, stars, plants, trees, animals, fish, then to top it off He created humans, each of us uniquely different.
Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus…” And we are. Someone said, “How cool is it that the same God Who created mountains and oceans and galaxies, looked at you and thought the world need one of you, too?” Let that sink in. You are God’s handiwork. He wanted you here!
I don’t need to make a special trip to an art museum to behold greatness; I only have to open my eyes to look all around me at the breathtaking creativity of God.
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Dawn Reed is a pastor's wife and newspaper columnist. Reach her at preacherswife7@yahoo.com.
