If the day is bright and beautiful where you live, then sing this beautiful hymn with me.
This is My Father’s World
And to my listening ears
All natures sings and ‘round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas
His hands all wonders wrought.
Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada and I love singing that hymn because even though our utterly rebellious planet is marred and stained by sin, it’s still our Father’s world. It still reflects His glorious creative touch. Evidences of God's glory are everywhere—every morning when you wake up. Even in the produce section of your supermarket. Like just last week, when I wheeled by the produce counter in Ralph’s supermarket. Who would have thought I’d find anything there of spiritual significance, but last week, I did. My friend Judy and I were moving toward the check stand, and just as I was passing the turnips, an odd-shaped vegetable caught my eye. It was, the sign said, an opo squash. Until that moment, I had never realized anything like an opo squash even existed on the planet.
I looked up and saw an “Exotic Produce” sign. There were all sorts of weird and wonderful vegetables and fruit. Judy picked up an Asian pear. “God did that,” I said as she examined it. It was like no pear I had ever seen—huge, misshapen, and covered with brown speckles. “Let’s try it,” she said, tossing it into the basket on my lap. After we checked out and were in the parking lot, Judy pulled the exotic pear out of the bag. “Want to be the first?” she said and held it up to my mouth. It looked ugly and odd, but I bravely bit into it. Oh, my goodness, my eyes widened in surprise. It tasted sweeter than any fruit I’d ever eaten, and it honestly smelled like perfume. I could say only one thing as I went for my second bite: “O taste and see that the Lord is good! Jesus, how in the world did you think this thing up?”
It occurred to me that this was a surprise from the Lord Himself. This is His world and His creative display of genius is everywhere – even in the exotic produce section. And as I happily finished off the Asian pear, it occurred to me that I was doing something brand new. I was experiencing something of His that I had never experienced before! And my response? Just to be amazed, just to be awestruck, just to be in wonder at what a gloriously great Creator God He is.
Friend, that’s the way God wants us to look at His world, especially in a bright sunny season like this. At the seashore or by a wheat field; tasting a summer pear or picking roses; walking by a stream or standing at the base of a mountain; standing in a row of corn or looking up into the Milky Way at night. God is constantly introducing us to new sights, smells, sounds, and tastes, so that we might constantly enjoy original and unique reasons to praise him. That’s an appropriate response to an Asian pear. As it says in the hymn, “He speaks to me everywhere.” Look around you, friend. Taste and see that the Lord is good and when you do, you’ll find you have utterly original words to tell him so.
© Joni and Friends, 2013
Compliments of Joni and Friends
PO Box 3333 Agoura Hills, CA 91376