Stop and Smell God's Creation

 “I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.”  George Washington Carver

 

  An atheist was walking through the woods, admiring all the “accidents” that evolution had created. “What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!” he said to himself. As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. Turning to look, he saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charging toward him. He ran away as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder and saw the grizzly was closing in. Somehow he ran even faster, so scared that tears came to his eyes. He looked again, and the big bear was even closer. His heart was pounding, and he tried to run faster. He tripped and fell to the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up, but the bear was right over him, reaching for him with its left paw and raising its right paw to strike him.
  At that instant, the atheist cried, “Oh God help!” Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. Even the river stopped moving.
  As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky, “You’ve denied My existence for all these years, taught others that I don't exist, and even credited creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect Me to help you out of this predicament now? Am I to count you as a believer?”
  The atheist looked directly into the light and said, “I would feel like a hypocrite to become a Christian after all these years, but perhaps you could make the bear a Christian?”
  “Very well,” said the Voice.
  The light went out. The river ran. The sounds of the forest resumed. Then the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed its head, and spoke: “Lord, for this food which I am about to receive, I am truly thankful.”
  Though I’m a Creationist, I have to confess that that atheist is a better person than I am. He was thankful for the glories of nature though he gave credit to the wrong “creator.” Too often I can fly through life and be oblivious to the blessings of God’s wonderful creation all around me.
  I love this time of year with the blooming flowers and their overwhelming fragrance. Our backyard is awash with the blooms of our apple trees. All of the trees have filled out again with their canopies of green. The birds have returned and we wake up to hear them serenading us. At night you have to be cautious about deer, raccoons, and possums. Spring is glorious!
  With the warm weather, Jane and I look forward to walks around the neighborhood and enjoying the beauty of our neighbors’ flowers and gardens. I have a bench in front of our home where I’ll sit and read. It’s an opportunity to connect with neighbors. I love watching folk go by with their families or walking their dogs or children streaking by on their bikes.  
  Wisconsin has some of the most beautiful sunsets that I’ve ever seen and what can compete after a thunderstorm with our rainbows. The glories of God’s creation bring us out to look in awe at what He has done!
  At night I love listening to crickets and frogs. Every now and then, you’ll hear an owl hooting. As a child, I remember listening to the Whippoorwills. There’s something breathtaking about a large moon or a star-filled sky.
  This summer Jane and I are looking forward to long walks on the beach. We’ll look for unusual shells, crabs skittering away, or fish leaping out of the water. Jane loves to find those unique nature trails to some waterfall or rock formation that you can only see when you hike back to it. We’ll watch some glorious sunsets on the ocean.
  To enjoy God’s creation takes time. With our accomplishment-focused culture, we cram too much into what should be downtime. It’s easy to forget that even in a family or couples getaway, the emphasis is on the individuals, not the destination or activities. It’s the ones we’re traveling with not where we’re traveling or what we will do that’s important.  
  That child or grandchild will never be the same age and have the same interests and focus in 2024 as they have in 2023. Your spouse, even though we adults seem static, won’t be the same in 2024 as they are in 2023.
  There’s one requirement if you’re going to “stop and smell the roses.” You must stop! You must slow down. It means taking time.
  Our time-oriented world values speed not substance. It deceives us into believing accomplishments or destinations are more important than relationships. Most of the world is in a hurry, always rushing; yet very few even know where they’re going or why they’re going there. They rush to yet another event that often has no real meaning for them, or perhaps that they really don’t even want to attend. It’s just another obligation.
  Or we let technology steal from us the wonder of God’s creation or depth in our relationships. Our TVs, computers, and smartphones steal from us what truly matters. We’re often focused miles away yet oblivious to those in the same room. There’s no conversation or dialogue. There’s only watching often what is little more than inane dribble on a screen.
  We must commit to slowing down, living in a slower rhythm, God’s rhythm, not this world’s pace. The Lord Jesus was never in a hurry when He walked this earth and God is absolutely not in a hurry now. Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” We must learn to let each thing in our lives have its season and realize we can enjoy that season without barging into the next one.
  Our frenetic pace robs us of quality lives and relationships. We’re moving so fast that we miss the grand masterpieces of God’s creation! So please take the time to enjoy life. Strengthen relationships with those you love. Trust God to give you the grace, energy, and time to do everything you actually need to do at a pace that allows you to enjoy the journey.

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Jesus was a friend of Atheists?

“I tried atheism for a while, but my faith just wasn’t strong enough.”

  Can I vent for a moment? It really irritates me when I see Christians caricatured in the media. It seems like every time the Media portrays a Christian, typically it’s someone with a redneck accent who’s a hypocrite running some scam financially, sexually or both. Or, they’re some mystical type with a spaced out look and their feet planted in midair.

  Since the media is the gatekeeper of public information, the way Christ-followers are portrayed influences the public perception of Christianity. 25% of the respondents to a recent Barna survey said they were unable to remember any positive contributions from Christians during recent years. It doesn’t help, according to the Pew Research Center, a mere 8% of national journalists and 14% of local ones indicated they attend a place of worship every week. Inaccurate stereotypes perpetuated about Bible-believing Christians frequently stems from insufficient religious education and interaction with true Christians…it hurts to be so terribly misconstrued.  

  Yet sadly, we Christians frequently do the same thing to atheists. It’s also very unfair. Most atheists I know are not anything like the Freedom from Religion Foundation, nor are they acerbic like Richard Dawkins. In fact, and I say this unapologetically – some of my best friends are atheists. I love them, pray for them and have great respect for them, though I’m sure sometimes I drive them crazy.

  In 2013 researchers from the University of Tennessee found atheists run the range from vocally anti-religious activists to nonbelievers who observe religious traditions. In other words, atheists are a very diverse group. While not a scientific study, these are some of the types of atheists I’ve met.

  Fad Atheists. Often, these are teens or twenty-somethings. Their parents are often very religious. Most young people want to distinguish their identity from their parents and want attention. What better way to get some “shock mileage” than to declare “I’m an atheist!” They usually love to argue to impress others with their atheistic intellectualism. Wise parents just love them and for the most part, ignore it.

  Wounded Atheists. These are often individuals who have suffered greatly. Sometimes they’ve been molested or abused. Some have a debilitating disease or have seen terrible atrocities like war. Some have been horribly treated by parents who hypocritically hid behind their religion. The parents may have gotten divorced during their formative years or Dad abandoned the family. And since for most of us our concept of God is colored by our relationship with our father, if we reject Dad – God is usually next.

  Perverse Atheists. When someone feels guilty, the best way to attempt to discard a sense of guilt, is to seek to eradicate God. With someone evil like a Stalin, a valid question is – which came first, the atheism or the evil action? When someone is living an evil or perverse life, atheism can be an attempt to keep from feeling accountable to a transcendent authority?  

  Angry Anti-theists Atheists. Unfortunately, this is the group most Christians are familiar with. They’re on all the talk shows. They’re the ones bringing lawsuits against municipalities for Nativity scenes. They regularly speak out against religious beliefs. They view religion as the ultimate ignorance and any individual/institution associated with it as backward and even socially dangerous. They’re very confrontational, believing obvious fallacies in religion should be aggressively addressed. Yet, I think you’ll find, they’re a small minority. Most atheists I know don’t want to bother anyone or be bothered. They respectfully disagree and want to be treated with the same respect.

  Apathetic Atheists. Personally, this group concerns me the most. They don’t involve themselves with either religion or anti-religion. As long as they’re basically happy and nothing rocks their world, they don’t invest time thinking about life’s big questions: Who am I? Why am I here? Where am I going? What’s the point? Religion plays no role in their life. They don’t believe much of anything. Their absence of faith means the absence of anything religious in any form in their mental spaces. Some even sit in churches week after week. Some in ones just like ours. Some don’t really believe in God, some merely give lip service to Him. But God has no true effect on their life. They may like the social relationships or find the moral teachings beneficial for themselves or their children. They may not even acknowledge they are atheists. But for all practical purposes, because God has no place in their lives, they’re atheists.

  Unanswered Questions Atheists. I think this is probably the largest percentage of atheists. Many of them think and feel very deeply. They see tragedies like 911, babies born with birth defects, a young mother raped and murdered and they can’t get past there could be a God who allows such suffering. They read the Bible and discover passages where God commanded the destruction of whole people groups. It seems horribly unfair and cruel to them. They refuse to believe in a God who’d command such things. They can’t believe God is good or loving, and still sends people to Hell.  Many are intellectual. Evolution and scientific theory make more sense to them than a God who created everything out of nothing. They have many unanswered questions and unbelief makes more sense.

  How do we deal with atheists? Love them. Let God love them through you. Are you attracted to someone who is hateful and angry? Why would an atheist ever embrace the faith of a hateful Christian?

 Pray for them. It’s God who opens up eyes, not slick Christian arguments. No one will ever be argued into heaven. Sadly, I’ve seen Christians win the argument but lose the relationship.

  Be honest. We don’t have all the answers. There are many we can’t answer. And it takes faith to be a Christian, even in the face of unanswered questions, so just admit it. Of course, atheism also takes faith.

  Live like Jesus. The truth is I know I’m a mess so I admit it. Yet, by God’s grace, I seek to be kind. And I’ve never regretted being too kind. 

  I think Jesus is greatly pleased when the worst thing an unbeliever can say about us is: “I hate them. They’re just too kind, honest and gracious!” So live so much like Jesus even the greatest skeptic can’t argue with your life! 

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.