Appreciate Earth's Natural, Quiet Beauty, August 12

Who has divided a channel for the overflowing water, or a path for the thunderbolt, to cause it to rain on a land where there is no one, a wilderness in which there is no man; to satisfy the desolate waste, and cause to spring forth the growth of tender grass? Job 38:25-27, NKJV.BLJ 238.1

He who laid the foundation of the earth, who garnished the heavens and marshaled the stars in their order, He who has clothed the earth with a living carpet, and beautified it with lovely flowers of every shade and variety, would have His children appreciate His works and delight in the simple, quiet beauty with which He has adorned their earthly home.BLJ 238.2

Christ sought to draw the attention of His disciples away from the artificial to the natural: “If God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?”BLJ 238.3

Why did not our heavenly Father carpet the earth with brown or gray? He chose the color that was most restful, the most acceptable to the senses. How it cheers the heart and refreshes the weary spirit to look upon the earth, clad in its garments of living green! Without this covering the air would be filled with dust, and the earth would appear like a desert. Every spire of grass, every opening bud and blooming flower, is a token of God's love, and should teach us a lesson of faith and trust in Him. Christ calls our attention to their natural loveliness, and assures us that the most gorgeous array of the greatest king that ever wielded an earthly scepter was not equal to that worn by the humblest flower....BLJ 238.4

I would present before you Christ and Him crucified. Give Him your heart's best affections. Give Him your intellect; it belongs to Him. Give Him your talents of means and of influence; they were only lent to you for improvement. Jesus laid aside His robes of royalty, stepped down from His eternal throne, clothed His divinity with humanity, and for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might become rich. Rich in money? in lands? in bank stock? No; that we might secure eternal riches.BLJ 238.5

There is no salvation except that which comes through Christ. He came to earth to lift up the fallen. With His human arm He encircles the race, while with His divine arm He grasps the throne of the infinite, thus connecting finite humans to the infinite God, and uniting earth to heaven.—The Review and Herald, October 27, 1885.BLJ 238.6