Just 5 and 7 years old, Liam and Elias eagerly awaited darkness and a fireworks display. Dancing with anticipation in a meadow, they pacified their impatience by marveling at the pyrotechnic sideshows of fellow holiday celebrants. Cherry bombs, sparklers, Roman candles, and fireworks of dubious legality violated the dusk.
But as a cooling evening curtain descended on the long summer’s day, a quieter distraction soon seized their attention—hundreds of fireflies materialized to punctuate the night. Soon our two pint-size nature lovers were wading in the July grass, joyfully chasing God’s incandescent insects.
When the fireworks finally started, Liam and Elias turned their gaze skyward. Soon, however, they lost interest in the explosive display overhead and turned again to the natural light show suspended tantalizingly near their reach. Nature had trumped civilization’s noisome flash. Ah, the eyes of a child! They often see things we miss.
“The world is too much with us,” wrote Wordsworth. “Little we see in Nature that is ours; we have given our hearts away.” The poet’s conclusion infringes on the pantheistic (“I’d rather be a Pagan suckled in a creed outworn”), but his premise rings true: We ignore God’s creation at the impoverishment of our souls.
When Jesus wanted to give His followers spiritual vision, He turned to a child. His disciples had asked a childish question: “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” (Matthew 18:1). Jesus pointed them to childlike faith: “Unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3).
May we have eyes not only for God’s nature but also for nature’s God.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Luke 16:1-18
More:
Read Proverbs 30:24-31 to see how Agur observed nature and marveled at it.
Next:
What has caused you to be too busy to enjoy God’s creation? How will you make time to listen to Him in the quiet this week?
Gary Shultz on August 16, 2014 at 7:32 am
Is not God wonderful? ” And a little child will lead them”.
Kathy @ In Quiet Places on August 16, 2014 at 8:08 am
The beauty of nature proclaims an awesome Creator!
Mike Wittmer on August 16, 2014 at 6:44 pm
I love that last name. May the wonder and beauty of nature always lead us to nature’s God!
Winn Collier on August 26, 2014 at 4:38 pm
the fireflies have been one of my encounters with grace and mystery. thanks for the reminder.
daisymarygoldr on October 4, 2014 at 8:07 pm
It is important to understand why the disciples asked this question. In Matthew 16, Jesus said Peter will be given the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Next in Matthew 17, Peter witnessed the Transfiguration. It is in this context of Peter’s prominence, the disciples asked Jesus “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”
Jesus placed a child among them not to point them to child-like faith but to teach them about child-like humility (Matthew 18:4). It requires humility to acknowledge God is right. Unlike children, adults are blinded by pride that prevents them from admitting they are wrong.
According to Jesus, greatness in God’s Kingdom is a measure of our humility to turn away from our sins (Matthew 18:3). The High and lofty One lives in the high and holy place—with those whose spirits are contrite and humble. Our greatness is not of ourselves but because of God in us.
When Jesus wanted to give His followers spiritual vision, it was not to enjoy God’s creation. Spiritual sight is not eyes for fireflies but to see beyond the natural—the eternal fire. Jesus explains this in that same passage: “if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell (Matthew 18:9).
Want to be the greatest in the Kingdom of God? Then we must become humble—even if it means to enter life lame or maimed. When we humble ourselves to accept God’s word and get rid of all the filth and evil in our lives, wash our hands and purify our hearts, He will lift us up in honor (James 1:21; 4:8-10).