The Creation Groans

08/22/07
Even in the pristine Rocky Mountains, the effects of the fall of man are evident. Pollution in the wilderness. Trash tossed on the ground within yards of a garbage can. People ignoring warning signs and defying rules meant for their safety. Yesterday a man took his son outside the guard rails and right to the edge of a tumultuous waterfall and raging rapids. Standing on slippery rocks where others have gone and plunged to their death, he grinned and waved to a mumbling crowd as if he were significant and to be admired.

I can focus on the beauty. I can look beyond the carelessness and ignorance of human beings who almost seem to be defying their Creator and His handiwork. Someday their mocking of what He has made will come to an end. At the same time, I understand Romans 8:18-22 today a bit better than before.

It says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.”

All this majesty called the Rocky Mountains suffers because of the sin of man. We cannot see with our eyes or hear with our ears, but God says there is a groaning in the earth, a hunger for the redemption of man and an eager expectation of that day when creation’s own beauty is undefiled and as it should be.

Fanciful? Maybe. Every person thinks at times what life would be like in a perfect world. No aches and pains, no sorrow, nothing out of place. As we hiked to the foot of the glacier at Mount Edith Cavell, I began to envision a perfect world from another perspective. The basin below the glacier is ugly, its devastation caused by the ice as it advanced. Now, trees try to grow but are stunted and sparse due to a lack of water as the glacier dries up. Will a perfect world have a perfect water supply? Perfect trees? Even perfect glaciers?

Revelation 22:1-3 says it will have something like that. “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.”

Perfection cannot happen until the curse of sin is removed. I’m not convinced that sin means global warming and global warming means melting glaciers, but I do know that when God takes away sin, there will be a crystal clear river, and life-giving trees. Not just individual people, but whole nations will be healed. The curse of sin will be gone, and instead of serving our own egos and that fanatical desire to be significant (no matter how silly it expresses itself), we will serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

I’m enjoying the Rockies, but not as much as I once did. Spiritual realities seems more vivid than the crisp edges of jagged rock against blue sky. The promises of God are crystal clear; even more so than the rivers or the mountain air.

I’m looking for that day when the river of the water of life heals the nations and makes perfect the mess we have made of this world God created. I’m also looking forward to being able to perfectly serve Him.