Creation Care Mom

I hope you have been enjoying this series on songs of faith. This will be my last one although I realize there are many more songs I could include. Have you noticed that you are seeing more references to creation in the music you listen to? Last Sunday, we sang this song in church and someone behind me said, “you could use that one for your next blog!” So here I am, specifically writing about Verse 2.

“Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest;
sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
join with all nature in manifold witness
to Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.”

What does it mean to “join with all nature in manifold witness”? The word manifold as an adjective has several meanings. Some meanings make no sense in this context such as, “using, functioning with, or operating several similar or identical devices at the same time” or “(of paper business forms) made up of a number of sheets interleaved with carbon paper.” It also can mean numerous, varied, or having many parts/elements/features. But I don’t feel that definition is the best here either. For the way it is used, I believe the best definition is “being such or so designated for many reasons”.

So what does it look like to “join with all nature in manifold witness”? To me, it means that we have been created, designated, to be a witness to God’s faithfulness, mercy, and love. This verse speaks of how the seasons and the heavens declare the glory of God. Nature is showing, speaking of his greatness through the way it is. Just the patterns of the seasons, in their semi-predictable way have the power to call out his love.

How can we join them?

First, we join them by not destroying nature. Who are we to silence the voice of creation crying out? Reducing consumption, pollution, and urban sprawl are all important to joining with nature. Eventually, we will all come to terms with the impact that our personal and collective carbon dioxide emissions have on the nature around us as well as our human neighbors. These emissions are changing the climate of the planet, increasing and intensifying heat waves, drowning us in floods, and burning forests beyond recognition. The science has reached a consensus. The only debate is whether or not we can reverse it in time to save nature as we know it and humanity. We cannot partner with nature when we are actively ruining it. So I ask again, who are we to silence the voice of creation calling out praise to God?

Instead, we should be adding our voice to theirs, amplifying the amazing and awesome ways that nature calls us into a deeper relationship with him. This may look like ecosystem restoration at any size, it may look like nature excursions for low-income city kids (or any of us), or it might look like financial support for preservation of wild places. Small scale or large, it doesn’t matter. He will take our meager offerings and use them beyond our wild imagination. That is why I do not lose hope. He is faithful, merciful, and loving enough to take our small actions a do big things.

So what about you? How is your life joining with nature to declare the glory of God? What actions are you taking to be a better witness of his faithfulness, mercy, and love? How do you see creation declaring his glory?