Ephesians 4:4-6 – There is one body and one Spirit–just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call– 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
A lone tree silhouetted against a cloudy evening sky. Caesar Creek State Park, Waynesville, Ohio.
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© Todd D. Nystrom and Todd the Hiker, 2014.
Romans 8:18-25 – For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Frozen waterfall on Flat Fork Creek. Caesar Creek State Park, Waynesville, Ohio.
For Christians living in North America today, we should be humbled when we compare our own circumstances to all of “the sufferings” that Paul endured for the sake of the gospel. I won’t deny that we live in a culture increasingly hostile to much of what we believe; but, unless we serve in certain foreign missions or a few difficult ministry fields, I think it is safe to say that few of us will ever face imprisonment, torture, or death for sharing our faith.
Though our present circumstances are far better than Paul’s, we do still live in a fallen world as he reminds us, “the creation was subjected to futility,” it is in “bondage to corruption,” and “the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” This is because of the curse, brought on by the fall, described in Genesis 3:16-19.
16 To the woman he [God] said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” 17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Not only were troubled relationships, pain, and death brought on by Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the garden, all of creation suffered as a result, ”cursed is the ground because of you.” Fortunately this is not the end of the story. By God’s divine providence the solution was already planned, as we read one verse earlier in Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” This verse speaks of the Messiah who would later come to conquer death and the grave.
Of course Paul knows that Jesus Christ was that promised Messiah and this is to whom he refers when he says, “For in this hope we were saved.” He also tells us “that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” when all of creation is redeemed and the “sons of God” are revealed at the second coming of Christ. And although he has not seen this glory, he reminds us that “hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” In a similar manner, we cannot see the blossoms of spring, and yet we have hope, waiting patiently for their arrival to announce the end of the ice and cold of winter…
Springtime view of the waterfall on Flat Fork Creek with the redbuds in bloom. Caesar Creek State Park, Waynesville, Ohio.
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© Todd D. Nystrom and Todd the Hiker, 2014.
Psalm 61:1-4 – Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; 2 from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, 3 for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. 4 Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!
Some of the towering cliffs along the trail in the Cantwell Cliffs area. Hocking Hills State Park, Logan, Ohio.
If you have ever hiked in an area with towering cliffs you know just how small and insignificant you feel when you take the time to stop and look above you. The use of rock imagery to describe God is found throughout the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament. For centuries rock was the only available building material strong enough to build fortresses and walls to protect a city from an invading army. And, even though the weapons of modern warfare have made the stone fortress obsolete, many ancient examples still survive demonstrating their permanence, so that this imagery is easily understood even today.
Although we can appreciate this imagery, it is still just a literary tool used to describe some of the characteristics of God in terms that we can understand. Fortunately our God is much stronger and more permanent than any rock formation found in nature or stone fortress built by the hands of man. Far better, still, our God is a living God, one to whom we can cry out in our times of need, one to whom we can look for protection when we are under attack from the world, the flesh, or the devil. He is also the God to whom we commit our time, talent, and treasure, the God to whom we offer our devotion, praise, and worship. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).
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© Todd D. Nystrom and Todd the Hiker, 2014.
Romans 1:18-23 – For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
“Fire and Ice” – The sun sets over the icy shores of Caesar Creek Lake on a cold January evening. Caesar Creek State Park, Waynesville, Ohio.
I cannot look at a sunset like the one I was blessed to watch earlier this evening without giving thanks and praise to God for his magnificent creation. And yet, there are many who would say God does not exist, that this incredible, complex, and beautiful world we live in is merely the result of time and chance. We as Christians are seen as fools for denying the likes of Darwin, and actually believing that there is a God and Creator who spoke all of this into existence, a God who is sovereign over the universe and all that is in it.
“Great thinkers” of yesterday and today are lauded, nee idolized, for their theories that explain everything from the origins of the cosmos to the origins of the amazing diversity of life found here on earth, especially if their theories do not require the Creator’s hand. It is considered the height of scientific achievement to devise a newer and better explanation for how we came to exist on this random ball of water and rock orbiting a minor star on the outskirts of the Milky Way galaxy, but only if that explanation does not involve the God of the Bible.
They scoff at the notion of idols because they no longer bow down before carved images of stone, and yet their theories and reliance on their own supposed knowledge are no less idols than those of ancient man we now unearth on some archaeological dig. You see, anything that replaces the one true God as the sole object of our worship is an idol, whether a piece of wood or a prized scientific theory they are really no different.
Christian, take heart! They are the ones who “suppress the truth.” They are the ones who deny the overwhelming evidence that surrounds us, the evidence that cries out for no possible explanation other than our sovereign God and Creator. They are the ones who will be seen in the end as the fools and objects of God’s wrath, because the evidence is so obvious that there can be only one explanation, “So they are without excuse.”
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© Todd D. Nystrom and Todd the Hiker, 2014.
Todd the Hiker 