Psalm 115:15-16
Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.  The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.

Why is there so much unnecessary beauty in the earth?  Why is there such a vast array of colors and smells and sounds and sights that bring us so much delight and elicit strong responses from our hearts?  Could it be that God, in His love, has given us these things simply so we can enjoy them and delight in them with Him?  It’s the same reason we give special gifts to those we love—to see them smile, to delight them, to show them they mean something to us, to share something beautiful together.

The earth that God made and gave to us is part of our connection to our Creator.  We don’t worship nature, but nature compels us to worship the God who made it all.  The power demonstrated within it reminds us of our all-powerful God.  There is nothing like the weather to show us how out of control we really are and how powerless compared to those kinds of forces.  Blizzards, thunderstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes all show us quite clearly that we are at the mercy of one so much greater than us.  The intricacies of creatures great and small reveal His wisdom.  And the vastness of the universes gives us a glimpse of the magnitude of God.

We are truly abundantly blessed, but let’s not allow those things to pry our eyes from the God who gave them to us.  Let us enjoy them and use them as He intended and remember to praise Him from thankful hearts for the tokens of love He bestows upon us so generously.  His grace is evident in our lives in so many ways, big and small, from sunshine and rainbows to the smallest things that delight our hearts and remind us of His kindness and care for us.

When God made everything in the beginning, His assessment of it was that it was good.  And though sin entered in and marred His creation, there is still much good in what He made.  He still delights in us, and He wants to delight us.  He provides for us out of His eternal storehouse.  He’s given us a life and a purpose, even a relationship with Him.  Let’s never forget how blessed we are and allow those blessings to draw us deeper into fellowship with our Maker.