This Sunday morning, weather permitting (does it only snow on the weekends here?), we will begin a series considering the opening chapters of the Bible, found in its first book, Genesis. In preparation, I have been re-reading sections of C.S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew. In this work, Lewis sets forth the creation story of the world of Narnia. It begins thus:

In the darkness something was happening at last. A voice had begun to sing. It was very far away and Digory found it hard to decide from what direction it was coming. Sometimes it seemed to come from all directions at once. Sometimes he almost thought it was coming out of the earth beneath them. Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself. There were no words. There was hardly even a tune. But it was, beyond comparison, the most beautiful noise he had ever heard. It was so beautiful he could hardly bear it.

What a wonderful image of the world being sung into existence. The voices of stars join into the singing as they are brought to life. The characters listening and seeing are captivated, some in awe, some in dread. On and on, the singing goes. As the song changes, it produces different creations:  mountains, hills, trees, birds, animals and so forth. The account is filled with words like glorious and thrill.

And that is a fictitious world. The actual world we inhabit bursts at the seams with beauty and majesty. There is an amazing order to it all. At the same time, there are grand variations. We don’t get only one type of bird, one type of fish, one type of mammal. We are blessed with different landscapes from mountains to beaches, creeks to oceans, arctic to tropical. It is truly an amazing world we inhabit and we would do well to take time to stop and literally smell the roses and take in all the grandeur and design, from the largest whale to the tiniest flower.

But we must take care that our gaze doesn’t stop at the creation. To do so would be idolatry. The creation is pointing us to something greater. In Narnia, in the midst of its creation, we are told that the creation made you feel excited; until you saw the Singer himself, and then you forgot everything else. Creation is a means to draw our eyes, our hearts, and our minds to contemplation of God.

Thus, the psalmist tells us in Psalm 19 that the heavens declare the glory of the Lord and the earth shows forth His handiwork. The Apostle Paul in the first chapter of Romans writes that in the creation we see God’s invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature. The awesomeness of the creation has as its purpose to lead us to an awe of the Creator. So, saints, let’s get outside and consider the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. Let us walk out on a brisk, clear night and consider the stars. Let’s get our knees dirty, get close to the ground and consider the breathtaking intricacies of the smallest bloom. And let all this lead to a resounding cry, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the king of creation!