Are we missing The Creator in the creation?

It is difficult for me to imagine vacation to look much different than an ocean crashing against a sandy seashore. For me it is nearly impossible to separate the two, as having time to unwind so often accompanies the sun and surf. I suppose I could blame it on my upbringing. I was raised in a coastal town, and I spent every summer with my toes in the sand. I know what it means to love the beach and long for it's quietude.

But while flipping through a magazine on my most recent visit to the shore, I came across an article that I immediately began reading too much into, and therefore allowing it to burden me in a way that the author certainly never intended. She was calling her readers to spend time this summer acknowledging the wonders of the coastline and to "renew our bond with the beach". She described our beaches as "beautiful and peaceful, strong and majestic, alluring and rejuvenating". Though I do understand the spirit in which she was writing, and though I cautioned myself at being overly cynical and critical, I couldn't help but want to scream "the creation is but a reflection of the Creator!". Yes, the coastline is peaceful and majestic and strong, but it is such things because it was intended to show that which is our God. Our calling to a bond is not with the ocean in all it's majesty, but to the One that is majestic. We are not called to the peaceful and rejuvenating waters of the sea, but to the One that is able to rejuvenate with an everlasting peace. We mix this up so often. I look around at all the blessings that God has poured out over me, and I often find myself unintentionally worshiping the blessings rather than the One that has given them. It is so easy to do if we are not diligent to guard ourselves from it.

I long for quite time at the beach every summer, but if I am not careful I will end up walking away unfulfilled. Because to experience the ocean without experiencing and knowing it's Creator, is to miss the point. To sit on the beach and not remember that we are but a speck of sand in God's story, yet know and trust that He still loves and cares for us, is to miss the point. To watch the waves crashing against the shore and to not remember that Jesus walked across them and then calmed the waves by simply speaking, is to entirely miss the point of the waves existence all together. To sit on the beach and not be moved by the Creator, is to just sit in the sand and get hot and sweaty.

And of course, all this wonder isn't reserved for only the coast. To see a rainbow and not remember His promise is to miss the blessing.
To see a full moon rise over the heads of your children, and to not acknowledge His power and authority, is to entirely miss an opportunity to be humbled.

And to watch a sunset in your backyard and not faithfully trust that the sun will rise again tomorrow (after all, the sun is but a copycat of The Son who rose again just like He said) is to completely miss an opportunity to worship.

To miss the glory of the Creator in all the glory of the creation, is to just miss the point. If you visit the beach this summer and attempt to renew your bond with the sand, it is going to leave you still longing for something more. Renew it instead with the One that spread the sand against the shoreline, the One that filled the sea with water, and then your thirst for peace will be quenched.

Sharing my gift today with Emily and all the sweet friends over at Chatting at the Sky. Come join us!