Behold, the kindness, and power, and wisdom, and foresight of God, that He should put into deciduous trees this ability to become brilliant beauties of red, orange, and yellow.
His wisdom, and kindness, and foresight, and power are made evident in two ways through these leaves:
1) These colors come only where cold weather follows them. The farther north you go, the more brilliant the display each fall. Now, just imagine if the leaves did not turn colors. Can you imagine the foliage simply turning brown and dropping to the ground? Leaves curling up and dying in drab agony? Signs of death all around. What more depressing way to usher in winter can you think of?
How good God is, to give us this last bright joy of nature before He puts the plants to sleep for the winter!
In this we see His kindness.
2) I've been thanking God for His kindness all week long, but only today (while driving on the highway and having my breath snatched from my lungs by the beauty that unfolded in the mountain ranges as I went around a curve and came upon a clear view) did this second thought hit me:
God planned this kindness before fall existed.
This ability for leaves to change colors; it is built into them. It only shows up when the chlorophyll of summer dies down, but it is there all along - like the stars that only show themselves when the sun goes to bed.
Before sin, cold weather was unknown. The first mention of cold weather in the Bible comes after the flood. The harsh winds and snows of winter did not come upon the earth - most likely never until after the flood, but certainly not in the garden of Eden. Life there was a perpetual spring.
What need did the leaves have of their hidden colors? Who would ever see those reds and oranges and yellows? Why did God make them like that?
Because He knew the future.
He knew mankind would fall into sin. He knew many autumns and winters would wash over the face of this earth before He returned. And even before the first man walked the earth, God planned beauty for his offspring's eyes during the lingering days of autumn.
Behold, the wisdom, and the power, and the foreknowledge of GOD!
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5 comments:
Ah! Are these edited?! =O
Oh - I hope you didn't think I was taking credit for these photos! Wish I could. :) :) Actually, I found them online. Aren't they beautiful?
Beautiful post!! Thank you for the reminder of the greatness and goodness of our God! I had never thought about that second aspect regarding fall... You have caused me to think... and to praise our wonderful God! Thank you! :-D
Dear Amber,
That is so true. The pictures are beautiful. God is so amazing and kind.
Lulu
P.S. Maybe you could be praying for Noah Estes. http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ourquiverfull/ He is 3 and has mitocondrial disease and is having a major sickness right now.
There is yet more to be gleaned...
Consider the infinitude of our God also.
It would be marvelous enough if God changed the leaves directly all at once, but He does more than that. He indirectly uses a number of factors, including temperature, weather patterns, species, characteristics of individual trees and even individual branches, and so forth to change each individual leaf when He wills it. Each varies from place to place so as to contribute to a multitude of contingencies and factors that are precisely managed to produce the results we see.
I've read that a mature and healthy tree can have as many as 200,000 leaves on it. Now multiply that by the millions (billions or trillions???) of deciduous trees and plants that change color, and trying to comprehend the scale of such management overwhelms your mind in moments.
Don't forget, of course, that we are only considering trees--let alone the myriad of other plants, animals, and geological features of which our God-given planetary home consists.
And unbelieving people usually insist on attributing all this wise management to "Mother Nature" or "evolution". And even I will go through many a day without pausing to express gratitude to my Creator and Redeemer for His sustaining work such as this.
Psalm 19:1-4, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world."
Romans 1:19-21, "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened."
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