“This is my Father’s World”

It has been wonderful to see the countryside in all its splendour; Bala Lake, the Mawddach estuary, Cader Idris and the Bwlch-y-Groes pass.

All these things spoke powerfully to me of the majesty and glory of God. Psalm 19 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.” Before I became a Christian I didn’t recognise God’s handiwork in his creation. One hymn says, “Heaven above is softer blue, earth around is sweeter green; something lives in every hue Christless eyes have never seen: birds with gladder songs o’erflow, flowers with deeper beauty shine, since I know, as now I know, I am his and he is mine.”

It is wonderful to realise that, in his Son Jesus Christ, the great Creator God has drawn near to us so that we can know him as our heavenly Father. As our Father he cares for us in all the joys and sorrows of life and provides for all our needs.

An old hymn says, “This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears all nature sings, and round me rings the music of the spheres. This is my Father’s world: I rest me in the thought of rocks and trees and skies and seas; his hand the wonders wrought.”

Last week I attended the funeral of a good friend who had died very suddenly. When we were at the graveside the sun was shining and you could hear the birds singing. Whilst we were sad we also rejoiced that our friend was now with God in heaven.

As I looked at the beauty of God’s creation I began to think of what it must be like to be in heaven. If this world of space and time is so wonderful, heaven must be even more glorious. In the Bible we are told, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”