“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” (1)
I don’t know how anyone who spends time outdoors can say there is no God. That takes a greater act of faith than believing in the Creator God of the universe. Rather I’m continually amazed how the Lord lays out every piece of nature in a specific order and plan.
I was contemplating this one day while walking in the nature preserve near my home. While I love to find wildflowers, I also try to learn the intricate patterns of their leaves. The same goes for trees. There is an order and a pattern for each plant, but they all follow a similar plan—seed, sprout, stem, leaves, blossom, seed. In the middle of all this, leaves adorn the tree and wildflower. Each leaf is unique to that plant and has a pattern for where it appears on the stem. Some leaves sprout out on opposite sides of the stem. Others alternate, circling around the stems but still appearing opposite each other. And a third, my favorite, is a whorl of leaves around a central stem. But the leaf structures are ordered. Nothing is random. Even the prickly pear cactus has spines that fall in a specific pattern. They are evenly spaced, clustered, or in a row!
God followed a similar order and pattern in our forests and their understory. Like the wildflowers, trees produce leaves in singular shapes and their branch patterns are distinctive as well. In winter, this is especially clear when we observe their silhouettes. Some leaves are easy, like the oak. That is until you realize that there are multiple types of oak with widely varying leaves. The willow oak’s long, slender leaves don’t look at all like the white oak.
The understory also carries clues about saplings. The wide leaves of the Paw Paw sharply contrast with the pointed star shaped leaves of the sweet gum.
Some plants are so distinct from their siblings that it is easy to identify them. Everyone recognizes the jack in the pulpit with its traditional three leaves and pulpit flower. Trillium has a unique blossom that appears in the center of its green speckled leaves. You can recognize the elusive bloodroot and the wild geranium by the shape of their leaves even if the blossoms have bloomed before you walk the trail.
These variations on a theme display the Creator God as orderly and complex in the way He crafts beauty at every turn. He makes it easy for us to learn about His creation and beckons us to appreciate it and praise Him for its distinct varieties. And sometimes, like the jack in the pulpit, we get a taste of his humor.
Our Creator God is not far off. He surrounds us with letters and words and thoughts through the intricacy of His creation. The more we learn, the more we see how complex and majestic is His creation. But it’s good to remember every inch of the universe is planned. Everything has a purpose, including beauty. His creation is a love letter showing how deeply He cares for us. He planned it that way. Enjoy it!
“Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.”
1Chronicles 29:11 ESV
- Romans 1:20
