Thirty years ago this week, Mount St. Helens erupted in Washington State, killing 57 and flattening more than 200 square miles of forest. Still considered the 2nd most dangerous volcano in the U.S. (after Kìlauea in Hawaii), the volcano continues to be watched by scientests.
While flying to a youth ministry convention in Portland, Oregon in October of 1980, our pilot took us past the still smoking summit and I was able to take a few pictures through the small airplane window. I was awed by what I saw: the size of the mountain, the huge crater blown out of the cone, and the surrounding devastation still are vivid in my mind.
Today as I reflect on what I saw 30 years ago, and having just out-run (out-flown) the volcanic eruption in Iceland last month, I think about creativity.
Huh? Yes, creativity.
Consider our planet: change is always happening. Shorelines change, rivers shift their course, volcanoes erupt. It is a fact of nature that our earth is constantly changing. I believe that The Creator is continuing to change and mold the earth. He continues to create.
You may argue that because many of the changes in our planet are destructive, that a) the Lord is into destroying stuff and people, or b) the Lord isn't concerned about the earth or it's inhabitants and simply allows to happen what will happen.
Perhaps there is more to it than that. Could it be that God's ultimate purpose is to draw all men to Himself, and He will use any means necessary to accomplish that goal? The good and the bad, the positive and the negative, the creative and the destructive. (Notice that I did NOT use the words wrath or punishment.)
Maybe we will begin to look at creativity, especially the creative process of the Lord, as something that is tied to a greater purpose: turning people to God.
Question to answer: Do you think God changes the earth to draw people to Himself?
No comments:
Post a Comment