I love Spring, don't you? I love all of the changes of seasons, I really appreciate the end of cold weather. I love to see the crocus and the daffodils coming up. I love working outside, in the yard and in my garden. My Dad was a great outdoorsman. He loved to ski and sail and camp and fish and we grew up doing those things. That may have something to do with why I like them but there is another reason; the natural world reveals God to us. This morning, let's consider two Old Testament passages that help us understand our connection to God’s world:

You visit the earth and water it … The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy. (Psalm 65:9–13 excerpted)

But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord. (Numbers 14:21)

The old hymn "This is My Father's World" was my Dad’s favorite. It inspired him to create a plaque of Psalm 95:5 to go over the entrance to the cabin of his sailboat. The verse declares, "The sea is His, for He made it." Today's first passage wonderfully describes the amazing world God has created for us. At the end of the passage, the psalmist writes, "They shout and sing together for joy." I like it! Our second passage declares: "The earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord."

Today, take some time to look around you. The earth is already filled with the glory of the Lord. He is revealed in the mountains, the woodlands, the rocky coasts and sandy beaches. His glory is revealed in the creatures that live in the depths of the oceans, the birds of the air and animals and insects that live on dry land. He created it all and sustains it all. All of God's creation responds to Him together. They shout, "GLORY!" ...and that is very Good News!