Reflections on Creation

I feel a lot better about things today, I’m not sure why but I just do. I saw a picture today, I’ll try to post it so you can see it, but it’s a picture of an old WWII tank abandoned and rusting on a beautiful beach on Puerto Rico. It’s the strange contrast between old metal machinery designed for death and the beautiful, green livelihood of nature. It occurred to me while looking at that picture that it really is the perfect analogy for our existence. All I thought was “this is what man creates and this is what God creates.”

What man creates, the tank, might seem to have it’s usefulness at the time but ultimately it becomes subject to the decay and break down that is inherent in this life. What God creates however, is perpetual, there is a system to sustain that life that has been in place from the beginning, and it not only renews life, but it does so in a beautiful way that is a treasure and life giver to plants, animals, and people a like. God’s creations uplift and give purpose and meaning and nourishment, it makes life worth living and more abundantly so.
Similarly, when we (read I) forgo the counsel of God to create my own plan or try to fulfill my own needs in ways that are contrary to God’s laws, it can seem like my life is efficient and sufficient. But ultimately, by rejecting God and kicking Him out of my life, I also remove his blessings and sustaining power out of my life as well, which leads me to rust and ruin and destruction. In the end, there is no possible way for a tank on a beach to survive, let alone thrive. It’s in a place where conditions are not suitable for it. What man creates has a shelf-life, it won’t last forever because it is not built according to universal laws of sustainability.
However, when we obey God’s law we allow ourselves to take part in His nurturing, His construction, and His beauty. We really are raw materials, but the difference is that we are not only the substance, but we are also the planner. We can plan for our potential to become either an eventual decaying man made machine or we can plan to immerse ourselves in God’s power and abilities and love to become an awe inspiring, eternal landscape bringing life, love, and happiness to all around it. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but it was a very powerful message for me because I’m at a cross roads and it was inspiring for me to see that, although the results might not be immediate, they are inevitable, either way I choose.