Technology cuts distance down to as close as your computer screen. Ed, my old neighbour in Saskatchewan, has become a great fan of pictures by way of his wife’s computer from here in Chilliwack to there in Melville. I took a picture of my garden with various rows of different vegetables above ground. Ed had to admit my garden was off to a great start. Two weeks later I sent a picture of a depleted half row of peas. The birds had been feeding on the tiny pea and spinach plants.
So far, the birds, are eating the peas three times as fast as the spinach.
Ed had no sympathy for my missing peas and said that I should thank the birds for eating any spinach. According to Ed, I should not waste time on a garden that the birds share as they like, but just buy my peas in the can, or in the frozen section of the grocery store like a normal person. My old neighbour has an aversion to all gardens and flowers, birds, mountains, sunrises, rivers and sunsets in general, are not necessarily beautiful to him.
When Ed was in school, he claimed that he was subjected to a terrible poem called All Things Bright and Beautiful. He did not like the idea of the poem that the Lord God made all things good or bright and beautiful. Ed was critical of the last verse which said: “He gave us eyes to see them, (All things bright and beautiful), And lips that we might tell, How great is God Almighty, Who has made all things well.”
Ed could not believe God made all things well because he did not find the cold winter wind bright and beautiful. He thought the pleasant summer sun often left him sunburnt, and the ripe fruits in the garden could have worms. Ed felt nothing may stay bright and beautiful for long.
I shared with Ed that the poem was written to help children understand God the Father Almighty as the Creator or Maker of heaven and earth. In the beginning, God created all things in heaven and earth visible and invisible. By His Word alone, he created everything from nothing. He created humanity specifically from the dust, then gave them His own breath as life. God is the Father of all people because all humans are children of Adam and Eve. God created all living things to reproduce according to their kind.
God sustains all that was created by His wisdom and power. All that God made was bright and beautiful or good. Evil and suffering and death came as, a result of, Adam and Eve’s fall into sin. Jesus redeemed all sinners from evil and suffering by his own suffering, death, and resurrection. In Jesus, God has demonstrated His power over sin and death. God in His almighty power can cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him.
God can make all things bright and beautiful. We can say that God has made me and all creatures. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support my body and life. I praise God, who knit me together in my mother's womb and still takes care of me today.
