The world in which we live is breathtakingly beautiful. God’s creation never fails to make my heart beat faster, my strides longer and my smile broader. Creation is spectacular. It is, however, not to be worshiped. Creation lives not of itself but entirely on the breath of God. It exists to tell of the One who is more beautiful. The stunning light of creation is merely reflected light from its creator. God is the one who illuminates the world, making it shine. We humans are also creatures of his hand. He formed us and breathed his life into us and then he set us apart from all other creatures.
He appointed us to represent him. What a holy task! But, we forgot. We walked away from our holy calling and we forgot what he looked like. Even though his creation daily spoke of him, we forgot. We, his set-apart creatures, forgot him and he became invisible to us. Yet, he loved us. Our invisible God came to us in the form of a baby and through his life he, once again, became visible to us. The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. We are told to wake up, and Christ will shine on us. We were once darkness but through his reflected light we too become visible, just like him. As his lights, we once again pick up our holy task of representing God in this world. He is a God who loves. In representing him, we love. He is a God who sees injustice. In representing him, we see injustice. He is a God who shows mercy. In representing him, we are merciful. His very nature is that of provider so in reflecting him, we provide. He is patient and gentle and kind. So are we. His plan has always been to shine brightly in this world so that he may be seen. At Orchard: Africa we recognize the greatness of God’s plan but we also recognize the holiness of our task.
Oh, that he will be visible through us! May we think on these things!