August 13, 2021 – Click here to listen
I have been enjoying the Pacific Northwest on vacation and haven’t paid much attention to the Florida Keys lately. Yesterday I was sent this beautiful photo of the Keys from the vantage point of the location where I live.
A small tropical storm is heading towards the Keys, and I suppose these high clouds are proclaiming its approach. Here in Oregon, the temperatures are fluctuating wildly with temperatures that range from very cold to blazing hot. I caught an 18 lb. King Salmon the other day and one can tell from my attire that it was very cold.
Yesterday, however, I was in Bermuda shorts and a tee-shirt and it got up to 106 degrees. That is hot!
I was thinking about this today and it occurred to me that God has chosen to allow the weather to fluctuate wildly. One day it is blue skies, sunny, and mild temperatures and the next it is dark, cold, and foreboding. The same holds true with our lives. One minute we are enjoying life to the hilt high up on the summit only to plunge into the darkest of valleys the very next day.
I sometimes wonder why God designed things that way. I have concluded that He does it so that we will not look to this world for the certainty that we crave. After all there is but one thing certain in this life and it is not death and taxes; it is God, and He should be the One whom we look to for finding certainty in this uncertain world especially in these uncertain times.
So that makes me wonder about heaven. Will we have seasons of fluctuating weather there or blue skies and perfect temperatures forever? We are told that there will be no death, sin, grieving, tears, or sadness in heaven and that is wonderful. But as for the weather, I can’t imagine our creative God designing it whereby every day is the same. I’m not saying there will be hurricanes, stifling heat, or freezing cold, but I will be surprised if God doesn’t come up with the most interesting creative design for our everlasting days with a nice climate that does not grow old.
Most of you probably think I have a loose wire in my brain for “wasting” my time contemplating a subject such as this, but I enjoy thinking about heaven and imagining how it might be. As I have traveled this beautiful country and indeed many places in the world, I have witnessed the glory of God in sparkling oceans and sparkling snowcapped peaks, virgin forests, painted deserts, crystal clear rivers, the vast fields of the mid-west, swamps, towering trees, and mountains that reach far above the clouds. We serve a mighty God with a penchant for beauty. We are made in His image and cannot help but marvel at them too. Just look:
Unfortunately, not everyone is appreciative of God’s beautiful world. I have seen trash thrown in the ocean, the roadside, and rivers, natural rock formations covered in graffiti, and so on. To me, it is like running a key down the side of a sparkling new Lamborghini. However, it is destruction and vandalism of God’s property. He owns it all and allows us to enjoy it because He loves us. Honor God and show Him some respect and don’t litter or otherwise mar the beauty of His creation . . .
John 1:3
All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday!