May 3, 2020
“April Showers Bring May Flowers”
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” Romans 1:20
Many of you have heard this expressing, “April Showers Bring May Flowers.” Well we have truly seen the truth in that statement this spring. We have had an unusual amount of rain in April and the world is alive with God’s beauty. Peggy and I have enjoyed so much riding around and seeing all of the brilliant colors on the bushes and trees. The flowers seem to be glowing brighter than ever. We wondered if it is because we have had so much rain. Last weekend we did some flower shopping and planted a few flowering plants on our patio and they are as brilliant today as they were last week. It just seems that creation is screaming its beauty at those who will look.
We are living during some uncertain times and I’m afraid we are all looking at the wrong things. We are watching for all of the negative of the world instead of looking at the beauty of God’s creation. We love snow ball bushes and haven’t noticed them before, but have seen several and the white of the balls seemed to shout out the glistening brilliance of the flowers. We have seen azalea bushes that are the reddest we can remember. Our knock out roses at the house are brighter than we can remember.
Have you ever thought that God might be reminding who is in charge in the midst of a worldly pandemic? Maybe God wants us to take our focus off of ourselves and put it on the creator of all good and perfect gifts. Just maybe God wanted us to slow down long enough for us to recognize the most important things in life.
When Paul is giving the reason no one has an excuse to not know about God he says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” What has been made? Everything we see and experience. Yet everything mankind has made wears out and becomes non-useful after a time. Yet everything God has made continues to scream out His name in its beauty.
Why not take the time today and don’t just glance at the flowers, but stare at them a few minutes. Don’t glance at the tree, look it over from top to bottom. Don’t just admire the rose, look at the design and splendor of each petal. When you look really closely, you can see God. Only God could create something so vivid and beautiful. Only God could make it worth looking at.
And don’t forget if God can make flowers and trees something to behold, think what He wants to do with you!
Dear God, thank you for the beauty of the earth. Thank you for putting your creation in front of our eyes each and every day so that we can see your creation and experience you. Help us not to focus on our own inadequacies, but to focus on your beauty. When we do we can’t help but to see the fact that we are much more to you that our problems. We love you, Amen.