February 7, 2020
In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. (Psalm 95:4-5 NIV)
“It sounds like we’re at a fireworks show,” my husband quipped. We laughed. Walking along the ridge of Georgia’s Providence Canyon with three of my favorite people, we kept uttering surprised “an
” and “aaahs” as we glimpsed the beautiful formations. In the 1800’s, poor farming practices led to severe erosion that exposed the sandy layers below the top soil. Gullies formed and quickly grew as their walls collapsed after rain storms. Soon canyons developed that uncovered the multi-colored layers of sand and clay. Tragic as this was for farmers and soil conservation, the landscape impressed me with its beauty.
As I wandered through the area, I marvelled at the colors and the patterns. It struck me that God meticulously creates artwork like this all over the earth, even though we rarely see it. Even today, as the water trickles down into the canyons, it leaves rococo-like patterns in the sandy structures.
I believe He does the same thing in our lives. When we look at ourselves or others, we often only see the surface, much like those 1800 farmers could only observe the plain dirt.
Yet below the surface exists lovely patterns and combinations that declare God’s glory.
My musings took some creative license, and attached the colors to character traits and the fruit of the spirit love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). God creates works of art in each of His children by molding these into their character in unique ways. My wanderings and wonderings attached colors to these characteristics.
Purple brought me joy. My hiking partners called the brightest purple, “Barb’s purple” because I loved it so much. Even when circumstances around me are less than ideal, the joy remains. The purple reminded me that the joy of the Lord is my strength.
The striking white formations made me think of purity and goodness. When our lives stand in stark contrast to the normal self-centered and compromising attitudes of the world, they stand out as beacons pointing toward a God who is all good.
The deep red emoted love. Rich and strong, this color is reminiscent of the blood shed by an innocent God Man many years ago. Like Him, our love should be bold and distinctive, not afraid to be displayed on the hills or in the valleys. People should be able to recognize we are Christians by our love. The multitude of brown shades in Providence Canyon did not pretend to be showy, but they formed the basis for everything else. They speak of faithfulness, steadiness, and a sure foundation.
Yellow spoke of forbearance and also hope, the ability to stay bright and optimistic even when it looks like the world is crumbly around you. The oranges reflected kindness and gentleness, mixing the deep passionate reds with the enthusiastic yellows to provide a color that portrays encouragement and support.
I reveled in the beauty of each color, but even more so in the ways they mixed together to form unique patterns throughout the canyon.
Likewise, God creates masterpieces within each of us that are unique expressions of His character. Although I believe Christ’s death was a one-time sacrifice sufficient to save me from the punishment of my sin, the Bible speaks of the ongoing process of sanctification, where I become less susceptible to the influence of sin while I’m here on earth. Each experience becomes an opportunity for the fruit of the spirit to grow. God crafts layer-upon-layer as He works in me to help me become more holy. Most people only see what shows on the outside, but it is the result of many years of learning, serving, suffering, and worshipping. Some of the layers are thin when God focused in on one particular fruit for a short period of time. Other thick layers represent character traits that took years to develop or those that typify our lives. The magnificent patterns develop over time.
Whenever you or I begin to think of our lives as drab or our personalities as “nothing special” we are choosing to forget that we have been formed by a master Craftsman.
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT)
What a blessing to know that He not only plans good things for us, but individually prepares us for those good works. The patterns show His forethought, the colors and variety of fruit glorify His artisanship, and the shape of how it all comes together display His fingerprints. We worship His sovereignty as we recognize how He lovingly molds and forms us to declare His glory and draw others closer to him.
“And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8 NLT)
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