This last Wednesday morning I was walking through the neighborhood behind the church. As I wound my way through the streets I came upon some trees planted along the sidewalk next to the street. Now, I have no idea what kind of trees these were. They were deciduous trees and the leaves were just beginning to turn. They were about six, or so, feet tall. Trees not unlike a lot of other trees around. But they caught my eye. They caught my eye because hidden within the leafy heads of these trees hung these “fruit”. They were about the size and color of a crab apple, but rather than being smooth the surface was bumpy with little nob-like lumps. I had never noticed these fruit before and when I saw them I stopped for a few moments to look them over. As I did so it struck me that here was another reminder, another witness, to the infinite and perfect glory of God.
God’s glory is perfect. It is complete. God’s glory is everything that His glory should be. God’s glory is infinite. It is without limit. It cannot be comprehended; that is, finite man is incapable of tracing the boundaries of the fullness of the glory of God. Man cannot circumscribe the truth and goodness and beauty of God and say—“here it is in full.”
One of the ways that God bears witness to this limitlessness and perfection in the finite creation that He has made is through the “endless” variation and variety of things that He has made. It is estimated that there are about 270,000 plant species in the world. About 1,000 to 2,000 of these are edible by humans. Agriculturalists estimate that there are some 1,600 different kinds of bananas and about 7500 varieties of apples. Botanists suggest that there may be as many as 1,000,000 different kinds of flowers and about 25,000 different groups of tree species. In the kingdom of living creatures, the guess is that there are about 1.37 million animal species, 10, 064 bird species, and about 32, 400 species of fish.
We could talk about insects. We could talk about the many different fragrances (smells) there are in the world, some good, some not so good. We could talk about a lot of things, but I think the point is clear. God has filled the earth with a vast array of different kinds of things and the sum of them witness to the infinite and perfect goodness and glory of God.
Now, I realize that, although there is this vast variety, it has a limit. That is true. But, the point lies not in the exact numbers but what these numbers indicate regarding the magnitude of the One who created them. Although the numbers are limited, presented to the mind of man at any one moment they are incomprehensible—they really do seem infinite and incalculable.
“The Heavens (and the earth) declare the glory of God.” In His goodness God has given us a witness to the wonder and the greatness of Who He is. And, every “single” exhibit of that witness, whether new to us, or old, is a reminder to us of that greatness. May your mind and heart be encouraged in the greatness of your God in the multitude of single witnesses to that greatness that you see this week.
Wondering with you,
Pastor Guy