Do You Hear Him in Creation?
An exploration of Christ’s Language of Parables and Symbols in Creation.
God is constantly sharing solutions. Do you hear Him in nature?
Have you ever struggled with a perplexing question, or wrestled for a solution to a challenge that seemed insurmountable? Have you ever considered that the answers could be right in front of your face, but you don’t recognize them or know how to interpret them? I believe that this is absolutely true! God is answering. We just aren’t listening or comprehending.
The quest of my lifetime has largely been learning to hear and see those answers in the symbolism not only in scripture, but also in life experiences, in the creative cycle, and in the people, places, and things around me. Recently, I’ve amplified my study of the language of God by striving to hearing Him in nature.
What we must know first and foremost is that God speaks in symbols and parables.
As Jehovah, the Lord spoke in symbols. The temples, the washings, the anointings, every ceremonial element from the sacrificial lambs and Holy of Holies to the shewbread, candlesticks, and Ark of the Covenant were all symbols of something deeper, more meaningful. They were given to set the mind and heart on a path, that if followed, would lead to understanding, wisdom, hidden treasures of knowledge and ultimately salvation.
Overarchingly, every symbol pointed to the Messiah, the Son of God, the Savior of the World. Every symbol was intended to teach, foreshadow, and remind the Israelites of the character, qualities, and mercies of Christ with the objective of transforming hearts and bringing salvation to souls.
Similarly, Jesus Christ taught in parables in hopes that we might see the depth and mysteries of the Kingdom of God and how to live happier, more peaceful and eternal lives.
Like the symbolic language of the Old Testament, Jesus taught in parables (story symbolism) that we might understand truth and have the wisdom to practically apply it in our lives. Many parables (if not all) illustrate that truth lies in “proving contraries.”
Proving Contraries
Contraries are two or more statements, beliefs, or opinions opposed to one another. Contraries can also be defined as two propositions so related that one or neither (but not both) can logically be true. And yet, with Christ, they ARE both true.
- How does one lose his life to save it?
- How does one turn the other cheek and not become a doormat?
- How does one give and serve and yet not let your left hand know what your right is doing?
Christ’s teachings are filled with paradoxes or contraries. “Proving contraries” means exploring and seeing the truth in two opposing propositions.
There are the contraries of justice and mercy found in the parable of the Prodigal Son and in the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant. There’s the Parable of the Generous Employer who paid people the same whether they worked all day or came in at the eleventh hour. The employer scolded those who complained about him being too generous.
On the opposite side, there were the ten righteous virgins who watched and waited long hours for the Bridegroom, but when half of them used up their lamp oil and didn’t have more, they ran out at the last minute to refill their vessels. While they were away, they missed the opening of the doors to the wedding feast. Even when they knocked to come in late, the Bridegroom said, “Truly, I tell you, I don’t know you.” (Matthew 25:12 NIV) This harsh response is in contrast (or a contrary) to the mercy of Generous Employer who paid people the same even if they came in at the beginning or end of the day.
Navigating a life with Christ is striking a balance between Justice and Mercy, Law and Love, Humility and Strength.
Staying Centered in Christ
Like the potter centering clay on a wheel, we must be centered in Christ. If the clay is not centered, it will wobble. You won’t be able to successfully shape it into a vessel. Eventually, the clay can sling completely off the wheel. How do you center the clay? A key step in the process is when you apply equal pressure vertically and horizontally. (See the photo at the top of this blog for an illustration.)
In taking pottery lessons, I’ve learned that if I press too hard horizontally with my left hand in comparison to the pressure I apply from the top down with my right hand, the clay goes flying off the wheel. I have to clean off my wheel, pat the blob of clay dry with my towel, and start over.
When I have limited time at the wheel, this is very frustrating. If I sling my clay off the wheel three times, when class time is up, the instructor says, “Clean it up. You’re done.” Never mind that what was supposed to be a drinking cup looks like a bashed-in nuclear reactor. I’m out of time and I have what I have. (This is what happened to me Tuesday night during my first night flying solo on the wheel.)
Staying centered in Christ requires a balance of contraries – like the opposing pressures I should be applying as I center the clay on the wheel. Following Him means emulating Him. And one of the first things we need to know about Him is that Christ is not about either / or. He’s a “YES! And!”
- YES, He is a physical resurrected being and YES, He is in all things and through all things.
- YES, He is human and YES, He is God.
- YES, He is just and YES, He is merciful.
- YES, He is the Lamb and YES, He is the Lion.
- YES, He is the strict, legalistic God of the Old Testament and the merciful, forgiving, compassionate Son of God in the New.
John the Beloved wrote:
“And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.”
John 21:25
Why can’t the world contain the books that should be written? Because not only did Jesus live, teach and love on this earth for 33 years before being crucified and resurrected, but also He was Jehovah, the Creator of the Universe. As Jehovah, He infused His essence, light, and symbolic messages into every element in nature. Every bird’s song, its nesting pattern, the beat of its wings, its nurturing patterns are all messages from Him. Every rock, crystal, flowing river, mountain top, plant, tree and shrub, every living thing, and even creations we see as not alive, is a parable unfolding for us to see Him in it all and hear Him in it all.
Mindfulness is the First Step to Learning the Language of God
We miss so much because we never stop to watch, listen, and learn from the infinite number of parabolic messages being broadcast daily. Why do we not listen? Probably because we’re too busy, too distracted, or too engaged in our own activities and interests. Perhaps more importantly, we do not listen because we do not know that He’s speaking to us at all. We do not know that His messages are even there, much less how to interpret them.
We’re like a family member who came to stay with us in the country and asked after the first night, “How do you sleep out here? There’s so much noise!” The frogs, crickets, and owls that lull us to sleep were simply noise to him. And yet, I cannot judge this relative because there are thousands of Divine messages being sent through that nightly symphony which I have never taken the time to hear, unpack or understand.
Why? Because I’m used to those sounds and pay them no mind. They are simply the background noise I have become accustomed to.
The purpose of this blog, and I dare say the quest of the last half of my life, is to unpack as many of these symbolic messages as possible – to see Christ in the beat of every hummingbird wing, in every crystal I study, and in every sunflower head following the Sun.
As I have done this in a proactive way for even a short time, I feel as if I’m drinking from a firehose of wisdom, knowledge, and Divine intelligence. I wholeheartedly agree with John that “even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.”
My hope is to write several dozen of those books that SHOULD be written to contribute my share to the infinite library of testaments to Christ’s love.
If you’d like to learn more about hearing God’s voice, check out my free “Spirit-Led Life Masterclass.“
Featured Image Copyright: CarterBrous / BigStockPhoto.com
