Appreciating God’s Masterpiece
BRD REFLECTIONS
Jeremiah 6 and Psalm 8 (NIV)
(Chan Chee Choon Chuck, Zone 6 Leader, Small Group Ministry)
READ:
Psalm 8 (NIV)
OBSERVE:
Encouraged by a friend’s frequent posting of exotic birds’ sightings around the parks and forests in Singapore, my wife and I visited some of our offshore islands, coastal beaches, parks, gardens and forests almost every weekend for the past couple of months, doing every bit at the same time to heed the Government’s current health tagline to ‘Make Every Move Count’.
Strolling along the forest trails and footpaths, quietly observing the flora and fauna around us, brings to mind the beautiful hymn ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful’, arranged and conducted by John Rutter. Without a doubt, we are often captivated by God’s beautiful and wonderful creation in nature – the smell of greenery in the forest, majestic ancient trees, interesting wildlife among the foliage and coastal landscapes, and colourful insects fluttering across our eyes.
Yet, even as beauty in nature often brings a sense of calm and rest to our body and spirit, I cannot help but ask myself, ‘Do I appreciate and pay greater attention to God’s masterpiece – the people around me – more than the changing hues of the skies, glistening and lapping waves of the seas, and all creatures great and small?’
APPLY:
When God created mankind in His image and likeness and saw all that He had made, He declared that it was ‘very good’ (Gen 1:26-31). King David praised God when he considered His handiwork in creation and contemplated why God would give His special attention to mankind and crown us with glory and honour (Psalm 8:3-5). In this light, I sometimes wonder why some of us love our pets more than our family members? Should I not give more attention to the people around me than anything else in God’s creation? Why do I relate better to things and animals more than people that I encounter?
I do recognise the challenges that all of us sometimes face in human relationships, but do I have any excuse to love people less when God only created mankind in His image? God in Jesus Christ did not become anything other than taking on human form to share in our humanity, so that by His death, He made atonement for our sins (Heb 2:14-18). The full brunt of sin in human relationships was exerted on Jesus, yet He willingly bore our sins on the cross for our sake. How much more therefore that I should demonstrate the same love for the people around me.
DO:
Live out the love of Christ by spending more time and energy in love with the people that God put within my sphere of influence.
PRAY:
Father God, may I not forget that in Your creation, you have esteemed all of us by creating us in Your image and likeness. Help me therefore to love Your creation, and more so the people around me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
