I have to admit it, I love creation - it is one of the child-like virtues I work at not losing. It's that sense of being able to look at all the colors of a sunset and be amazed at the variety of hues from purples to pinks, reds and oranges, to the navy blues and bright turquoise. The immensity of the scale on which the sunset is painted makes it hard to take in with one glance. To really see it, you have to stop at least a moment and just look and the longer you look, you begin to notice the changes because even as you watch, clouds are moving and the colors are changing as the sky grows darker.
Little children have the gift of wonder, whether it's because they are truly seeing things for the first time or also because they don't yet have explanations and reasons for things. For them the world is a place of wonder that hasn't yet been replaced by "understanding". Things are amazing just because they are. I remember looking out and seeing one of my children squatted down looking intently at the ground. Minutes later, they were in the same place in the same position. It didn't look like they were doing anything but I couldn't see anything happening either. I came out and asked what they were doing. They didn't even answer, just pointed at the ground. I still didn't see anything and asked again. They pointed again and I bent down further. All I could see were ants on the ground but what they saw watching the ants march in columns through the dirt and grass kept their attention and imagination for a long time.
I got lost in some of that amazement sitting on my sister's deck as I watched ruby-throated hummingbirds buzz about between all the flowers and the feeders. At one point, a hummingbird had to chase away a large bumblebee that had also discovered the hummingbird feeder. It was incredible to see this tiny bird, not much larger than the bee, with its wings beating so fast that they are virtually invisible. They are so tiny that at one point, one of them perched on a twist tie fastened to a planter along the rail. As they sped between the flowers and feeders, I learned that not only do hummingbirds sound like huge buzzing bees but they also make tiny high-pitched squeaking noises as they fly.
Later that same day in the front yard, I saw a moving shadow and looked up. Flying low over the house was a large bald eagle, close enough that I could clearly see the white of the head and tail and the large talons and beak. What a contrast from the buzz of the tiny hummingbird to the powerful and majestic flight of the eagle! As it flew away and over the edge of the bluff, it gave a loud piercing whistle.
In the opening of the Bible, it is written that God created the heavens and the earth, "And God saw that it was good". There is a lot of discussion and argument about God and creation and science these days and whether or not or how science and the Bible intersect. I don't think it is a matter of whether or not science and faith are irreconcilable; it is a matter of wonder. Wonder reminds us of our humanity and of the immensity of God. Wonder also reminds us of our duty and need to care for all that God has made. Faith doesn't ask us to understand how God created, but to stand in awe and believe that God created.
The problem occurs when we become so wrapped up in what we think we know that we forget to be amazed by the creation around us. We tend to lose God right long with our sense of wonder because we focus on our knowledge, our work, and what we think we control. This self-centeredness is a condition that affects both scientists and creationists. Isaiah puts us back into perspective by asking: "Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?" (Isaiah 40:12)
As we pause to wonder at the creation God has made, it is even more amazing to remember that this God is with us always in love. Read Psalm 8.
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