Yesterday I bought some sunflowers to brighten my day. They’re not the usual ones with the dark brown centers. Rather, they are a lovely yellow green in the center with the traditional gold petals. As I gazed at them in the vase, I remembered the center of the flower was not just to make me smile, but over time, to produce seeds the birds love, and a farmer can plant. I recalled seeing a vast field of sunflowers as far as my eye could see and wanting to go run amongst them. Just like I always want to run in a nearby cornfield. But alas, there are no trespassing signs. Maybe someday I’ll march up to their front porch and ask if I can visit.
While meditating upon this memory, I realized even though it seems as if the sunflower’s primary reason for existence is to make me smile, as usual, the Lord has something else in mind—a purpose. That immediately reminded of Ecclesiastes 3:1 “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven.” (1) Most of us have heard this verse, But I never really thought about how everything has a purpose. Certainly, as His ambassadors on earth, we have our specific purposes laid out for us before we are born.
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (2)
But does everything have a purpose? Yes. I believe so.
Today I walked in the nature preserve and sat for a long while by the marsh, silently observing the bees finding their sweet treat in a bush that was flowering nearby. I was delighted to see flowers on this bush as I’d never been there when it was blooming. So, besides its beauty in the landscape, the flowers on the bush had at least one other purpose—nectar for the bees. Maybe the birds eat the fruit? Often, I assume wildflowers are there for my enjoyment. True. But they also serve a purpose in the ecosystem in which they’re found. Besides their beauty, they’re food for animals, such as bear corn which blooms in the Smokies in the early spring just as the black bears are emerging from hibernation.
As I sat by the marsh, I heard the soft movement of leaves around me. A minute later, I felt a gentle breeze across my face. I closed my eyes to focus on its caress. I know without it we wouldn’t have seeds carried to places where they can sprout or clouds that carry the rain we need. The wind constantly refreshes the air we breathe. So besides the caressing breeze bringing me such pleasure, the Lord has other purposes.
If you study every part of the Lord’s creation, you’ll find this same principle. The Lord clearly created the natural world for our enjoyment. But it is never without intent.
If you’ve walked with me for a while, you know my favorite places are the mountains. Specifically, the tops of mountains. I will endure pathways strewn with large glacial rocks and roots, just to reach the summit and sit in awe of a view filled with mountain ridges as far as the horizon. Why are there mountains? Clearly, they provide habitats in which the animals live. They also affect weather patterns. In addition—they’re stunning.
Take any part of His creation and you will find beauty and purpose. Look around at his children and you will find it as well. There is so much false emphasis on beauty today. We forget He calls us “the apple of His eye.” (3) He’s much more interested in creating beauty inside you. Remember what Solomon wrote in the Song of Songs. “Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your Lord.” (4)
The one and only person who matters is enthralled by your beauty.
“For this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye—'”
Zechariah 2:8 ESV
- Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJ
- Ephesians 2:10 NIV
- Zechariah 2:8 ESV
- Psalm 45:11 NIV
