A very gifted and gracious man in our church recently gave my wife and me a large black bear he had created out of a hardwood log. He had carved it with a chain saw and then painted it with such precision that it has a remarkable likeness to the actual thing. As if this blessing was not enough, he then gave us another bear to go with it. This second one was a cub, designed to accompany the larger bear he had created earlier.
We have now set them up in the edge of the woods in our back yard. From a distance, they look quite real. In fact, whenever I chance to glance upon them, for a split second, I am inclined to think they are real. I then remember their origin and thank God for this dear man. The goodness of his talent is surpassed only by the goodness of his generosity.
While out walking yesterday evening, my wife and I encountered a large doe that came up out of a patch of weeds and stood in the road in front of us. After a moment, she glanced over her shoulder and then proceeded to cross the road into the woods. A few seconds later, a beautiful young fawn came up out of the foliage and stood where she had been. It then walked across the road and into the woods after what was obviously its mother.
As I beheld this spectacle of nature, I was reminded of the bear and cub in our yard. Only this time, the creatures were indeed real. I say creatures because they too were created. And the One Who made them is even more talented than the man who carved our bears. The One I refer to here is of course Almighty God; and the goodness of His creativity too is only surpassed by the goodness of His generosity.
For the pinnacle of this Creator’s work was and is you and me. Despite the goodness He displayed in having created us, and despite the goodness of the beautiful world in which He placed us, we rebelled against Him. Yet even then, He did not abandon us. Rather, as His Word tells us In the New Testament Gospel of John, chapter 3, verses 16 and 17, NLT):
16“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
These verses have special significance for my wife and me. You see, we were each created in the image of Almighty God. Yet, we each chose to sin against Him. Nonetheless, He loved us so much that He gave His One and Only Son on our behalf. We received the goodness of His grace by embracing His son. Thereafter, He chose to bless us with the goodness of a wonderful life together.
A part of that goodness has been three little ones of our own, as well as the opportunity to see each of these grow up, embrace God’s grace, and receive in turn the goodness of His blessings for them.
Part of their blessings is now intertwined with ours. For they have now given us six new little ones. That’s right, in addition to the four grandsons we now have (ages 3, 2, 2, and 1), my wife and I are about to blessed with two more grandsons. One will be debuting in September and the other in November.
I pray the Lord will give me many opportunities to see each of these new little ones running around our house and yard. And I know in my heart that each time I glance up and see one or more of them doing so, I will remember that these little ones are indeed real. For they are, one and all, real live human beings, created in the image of Almighty God!
And even though they will not be perfect, even though they will prove their sinful nature, God still loves them so much that He has already provided for their redemption as well. That redemption is found in the same One and Only Son Who redeemed their parents (my children) and their grandparents (my wife and me).
When these times come, I will remember that my Heavenly Father has once again delivered the goods! For I will be witnessing again the manifold goodness of God on display - the goodness of His creativity surpassed only by the goodness of His generosity!
SCRIPTURE SOURCE: https://biblehub.com/nlt/john/3.htm.