It is Good

A couple of weeks ago I went on a little mini-safari "fantasy style of sorts," ala US Botanical Garden, which was lovely. This is one of my favorite places in the city and I love going there to take pictures and to just soak in the gorgeous plants, flowers, scenery all around me.

The last time I was there, I was distinctly reminded of the fact that we were created to live in a garden, not cloistered away from the beauty of creation in all of its goodness. Because of sin and the resulting fall, we have a certain aversion to nature and the effects of sin-both direct and indirect on all of creation. It gets cold in the winter, and things die, so we lock ourselves inside away from the cold. In summertime, the uv rays scare people far and wide and mosquitos drive us nearly insane-so we cover ourselves with sprays and lotions, and spend less time outside. Pollution and garbage fills many once pristine rivers and streams. Once gorgeous plots of land now contain "dumps" for our "trash" and the "undesirable" side effects of our consumerism and materialism. We no longer live as one with all of creation. And thus, creation is a little out of whack all the time; we can sense it and often see it. BUT even in its fallen state, the creation itself (including human beings) is still a wonderful reminder of the way we were made and of the very nature of the creator. What a way to taste and see the goodness of God!

Above are some memories of the goodness of my last visit, which I recall with great fondness. Please enjoy!

Finally, this discussion reminds me of something else...nearly a year ago I wrote a paper entitled "A Christian Apologetic on the Environment: Why Christians are Called to More Than Just Recycling and Why Pantheism Provides no Answer at All." Perhaps i'll post it online soon. In the meantime, here's a quote I pulled into the paper that I really like:

From beginning to end the Bible affirms that God is the Creator. This, and not the human condition, is the true starting point for both understanding and caring for the world around us. We discover who we are, and what the world is, in relationship to God, rather than the other way 'round. -Peter Harris, founder of Christian “creation care” group A Rocha International