As we stood there, peeling the carrots, I turned to the boys and said, “Have you ever thought our lives are like a carrot? God peels away the ugly and makes us all new and pretty. Like, he peels away the dirt the world has stained us with and makes us this new creation.”
“Well, no. I never quite thought about it that ways,” Matt said, “but it makes sense. I think everything that has life or did at one point can teach us something about God.”
“But what about nonliving things? What about rocks? Can they teach us about God?”
While part of me was just trying to be a smart alec, part of me was also serious. Can’t we learn from rocks? As I sat there peeling carrots with these brothers of mine, I was reminded of what author Rob Bell wrote in his book Velvet Elvis.
The problems come when salvation becomes all about me. Me being saved. Me having my sins forgiven. Me being reconciled to God.
The Bible paints a much larger picture of salvation. It describes all of creation being restored. The author of Ephesians writes that all things will be brought together under Jesus.
Salvation is the entire universe being brought back into harmony with its maker.
This has huge implications for how people present the message of Jesus. Yes, Jesus can come into our hearts. But we can join a movement that is as wide and deep and big as the universe itself. Rocks and trees and birds and swamps and ecosystems. God’s desire is to restore all of it.
The point is not me; it’s God.
Velvet Elvis-Rob Bell
So I guess that means rocks can teach us something.
But really it’s more than that. It’s more than just God teaching us some lessons. It’s about more than just us.
God cares about everything on this earth. Every little thing. It’s amazing just to think about the precision and care God took in creating each one of us but when you add the rest of the world into the mix, it leaves me in utter awe. And just like God wants to restore us to perfection, the way he created us, he wants to restore this entire earth back to perfection, the way he created it.
God did not create this world polluted. He did not create acid rain. God is not the cause of global warming. Nor is he the creator of poverty or homelessness, sickness or slander.
God longs to see this world restored. He longs to see every piece of his creation restored, including and especially us. But the realization that it’s not about us is essential. Complete restoration will never come if we think it ends with us.
When God created man, “[he] took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it” (Gen 2:15). From the beginning of time up to this very day, we have been called to play an active role in creation. We are called to go out and do something. Whether that be doing our part in taking care of this earth or lending a helping hand to a neighbor in need, it is our job to make that restoration happen. God wants us to partner with him. He’s already entrusted us with this entire earth. The least we could do is glorify him and take care of it.
My Lord and my God,
Open our eyes. Soften our hearts. Remove the blinders to the realization that it’s not about us. You are the creator of everything. You are God and we are not. Help us to realize the reason you created us-to bring you glory. May we glorify you in everything we do, starting with the way we treat one another, the way we treat your creation. Instill within us a passion to serve, a passion to strive for the restoration we all so desperately seek. May heaven meet earth because of the things that we do, our obedience to you, and may you and you alone receive all glory and honor and praise as it happens.
