Hello, it’s been some time since I’ve been on this forum.
Some thoughts I’ve been having recently.
I’ve previously used Jesus’ statement regarding the birds of the air and lilies of the field as a justification for enjoying nature.
However, increasingly it feels like I’ve moved on from that, towards seeing God’s work and grace as something present in all things.
This increasingly makes it seem to me like I don’t need to take appreciate God in the wonders of creation, the whales, colourful birds and mountains of the world, and instead can equally find God in the small things. Wood, stone, bugs, even the materials which my bed is made from.
Whilst I think it is good from a spiritual perspective to ‘see God everywhere’ so to speak, I worry that it may actually make it harder for me to find God in the most enjoyable things in the world. We are called, as Christians, to do all things to the Glory of God.
The question is, when I enjoy an animal which I prefer over others, am I truly doing it for God’s glory, or am I doing it for my own enjoyment, since I could easily find God in a slug just as well as an elephant?
I don’t want this to be something that bugs me, since I think it easily could, which is why I come here tp ask for advice.
My tentative thoughts are that maybe if elephants (my favourite animal, which I hope to see in a few weeks, in a reputable sanctuary, when I go on holiday) aren’t ‘objectively’ more amazing, they may still be (and are) subjectively. And that’s okay. I can still thank God for what he has made, even if I could (with some digging) find him ‘objectively’ in anything.
Perhaps the answer I need is staring me right in the face in 1 Corinthians 10:31:
“If I partake with thankfulness, why should I be denounced because of that for which I give thanks?“
Thoughts?
Am I worrying too much?