All ears

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, of skies and seas;
his hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world,
the birds their carols raise,
the morning light, the lily white,
declare their maker's praise.
This is my Father's world:
he shines in all that's fair;
in the rustling grass I hear him pass;
he speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father's world.
O let me ne'er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father's world:
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!

The message of this hymn is clear – nature testifies about God. But I want to take the idea a little further. If this is my Father’s world, then what about the humans he put on it? Can humanity and all that it is (and isn’t) somehow point towards God too? But man is fallen, you say. The world is proud, worships idols and is self serving. True.

But although this hymn portrays nature in all its glory and emphasises its beauty let’s not forget that creation is fallen, along with man. Sure, creation may not worship idols, but my cat still takes pleasure in catching, mutilating and they playing with baby mice. Horses will die horrible deaths from mosquito-borne viruses and it only takes one fungus to destroy a whole crop of fruits.

The whole of creation, man and beast included, is sin-infected. Yet this is our Father’s world, he is the ruler yet. And I believe that we can hear him – in the songs of nature and the symphony of humanity…. If we listen hard enough.