In this little series about my family’s trip to the ocean I shared with you my observations of the seas, the lands, and the people. In each of these we witnessed a grand panorama of our Awesome God. We saw “the waters (that will) not transgress His command.” We saw the grass “He causes to grow for the cattle and vegetation for the service of man.” And we saw the diverse people that He has made as the culmination of creation.
There was indeed manifest beauty in the proud waves, the cattle on a thousand hills, and the many, many faces of the people. In light of all His awesome works, praise and worship come easily. BUT, we know just as well that something is wrong, something is definitely amiss. What we are actually seeing is only the remnants of the Garden of Eden. Mankind was placed there and then commanded to grow the garden bigger and wider, spreading it all over the earth. Man and beast, vegetation and the waters were to be together in peace and perfection with God in our midst. Love was to be in all and love was to rule all. But with love comes choice. Our loving Creator stretched out His arms to man and man said, “No.”
We are born saying, “No.” Even so, we want back in the garden. All that man does is done to try to banish his longing for Eden or to make his own Eden. Religion and politics and our vices and accumulating stuff to pile on top of our other stuff is nothing but distraction and distortion of our true desire ─ the inward desire put there by our Creator ─ to walk with Him in the cool of the day as was originally intended.
The Bible tells us “that the whole creation groans and labors” and “even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” (Rom 8:22-23) Mankind and all of creation lost everything when we said, “No.” BUT, the good news is God still said, “Yes.” Because of His awesome love,
God has made a way: A way for us to exercise our free choice to love Him or not; and to restore us to Eden’s intimate relationship with our rebellion fully paid for. Once again, our loving Creator stretched out His arms at the Cross and said, “I love you.” He redeemed us, as Peter says, “…not with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ…” (Pet 1:18-19)
Our Awesome God loves us. He has bought us and woos us with His own life’s blood. From one scarred hand to the other He is reaching out to you ─ don’t say no, say, “Yes!”