Learning About Christ Through Creation

Everything created we see with our eyes has something invisible in Christ it represents. When we walk around the created world, we are in essence walking around a bunch of things that have significant meaning behind what they are.

All created things have something to show forth as to who the Father is in Jesus Christ.

Sometime when you're on a walk or just contemplating, think of the magnificent things around you; ask God to show you something of Himself within them.

I'm originally from northern Minnesota, and many of us love our trees up there. I think of the progression of the softness of wood in trees as something extraordinary from the Lord.

For example you have the softwood of the poplar, then you gradually get harder with the pine tree and then the birch. Then you can get into a little harder woods like maple, oak and ash.

All these woods are created by God and show us something of who he is.

You can see how He can deal with us in certain ways that can be soft, and then as we grow and learn Christ more, there may be times that are harder and more difficult for us, or when He seems hard toward us in things we may be doing that hinder our walk with Him.

Other times we may simply be assuming He's a certain way, and He's not thinking that toward us at all.

You can look at the softer wooded trees which are more flexible and easy to work with, but when you need to be heated by them, they're not as efficient.

There are times when God is more flexible with us, and other times when He's immovable, and expects us to conform to His image. Now I'm not saying He's not always working in us to conform us to His image, just that there's times he gives us more room and time to grow, and other times when it's here and now; and no foolishness.

The point is we are learn a ton of things from the creation around us, as it was based on something invisible in God that it based upon.

All we need to do is ask Him to reveal to us the tremendous secrets of Himself as revealed through creation. It can give you a different perspective on living in this visible world while we're on it, and teach an endless number of things about who Christ is.

Christians are not of this World

Talking about his inner core group of disciples one time, Jesus in prayer to the Father said they weren't of this world, just like He and the Father weren't of this world.

This is an extraordinary statement talking about His people and who they were to be.

Many people professing Christ don't want to face this conclusion of Jesus about those that had surrounded Him when he was physically on the earth, because the implications are devastating to those that love this world.

We are a people called to be in this world, but not of this world. We are to live from a life totally contrary to the way this world functions and what its endless fears and concerns are.

One thing that may shock people was Jesus never moved based on need, only on the word and actions of His Father. If He heard it from the Father, or saw the Father doing it, Jesus would do it. If not, He would say or do nothing unless it was the Father saying or doing it in Him.

Jesus went so far as to say without the Father He could do nothing. Nothing means what it says. That's the life we are also called to live while on this earth.

A major problem Christianity faces today is they are intimidated by the world and its ranting against the Lord and His Christ, to the point where they are trying to please the world and prove something to them. We aren't called to that as a purpose, and we aren't called to please this world.

The only thing Jesus says is they'll know we are of Him because of the love we have for one another.

But we don't love one another to prove it or to please the world, we do it because it's what Christ and the Father are. They are love. The love we then organically express to one another is seen as being from God. We simply don't pay attention to that seeing. When the Father wants the love we have for one another to be seen by the world, He'll make sure it's seen.

For us we simply live our lives quietly and peaceably on the earth, like we're called to do. The world will take true notice of a people that live life from another world than their own. They won't notice or care about those that name the name of Christ and yet are just like them. We are called to a higher calling than that.

Only Christ can do this as we hold to Him as our head within us. It's not something we can make happen.

Don't be afraid to be different than what this world is, we don't live from the same source they do. We are not to be of this world - and we aren't. We live from another life source that doesn't originate here. We need to cooperate and allow the Lord Jesus to live his life in us.