Relationships, Photos & Content
Never before in the history of humanity has there been such a book like Facebook. It enables nearly a billion people to pay constant attention to their relationships, see photos of friends and unbelievable scenery, and have a constant flow of interesting content. Has there every been a book that has rivaled Facebook’s influence?
Who doesn’t like Facebook? It’s an amazing feat of humanity that enables us to stay in touch with friends, and express just about anything that’s on our minds to thousands of friends and acquaintances. It is truly a revolutionary social discovery.
Spacebook
But there is another book which has influenced the over 106 billion people who have ever lived on the earth, and will continue to influence each person who ever will live on this earth until Christ returns. It has better pictures, a better and more constant flow of original content, and it fosters better relationships through shared adventure and bonding experiences. The title of book I am referring to is: Creation. Or as I like to call it, Spacebook, because it’s wide open outdoor spaces point us to the vast riches of God’s character. Listen to these grace-filled words about spacious places from God’s Word, the Bible:
He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food. (Job 36:16)
He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. (Psalm 18:19)
You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place. (Psalm 31:8)
Facebook’s Limitations and Spacebook’s Virtual Limitlessness
As much as I enjoy Facebook, its limitations are huge. I have to stare at a screen to enjoy it. And it will always be two-dimensional whereas God’s Creation is 3-D! I can see it, touch it, taste, feel, and hear it. It is a place of life, and as the Ancients remind us, it is a place to connect with God—And He is not on Facebook, although lots of people talk about Him on Facebook.
The Ancient “Fossil” Record
Listen to what some ancient, wise, Fossils have to say about Spacebook, i.e. the Book of Creation. They highlight its superiority to anything man could ever make. St. Irenaeus of Lyons (129-203) said,
For even creation reveals him who formed it, and the very work made suggests him Who made it, and the world manifests him Who ordered it.
St. Athanasius (297-203) stated,
About the ‘Book of Creation,’ the creatures are like letters proclaiming in loud voices to their Divine Master and Creator the harmony and order of things. For this reason, God gave creation such order as is found therein, so that while HE is by nature visible, men might yet be able to know him through his works.
St. Augustine (354-430) put it this way:
Some people, in order to discover God, read books. But there is a great book: the very appearance of created things. Look above you! Look below you! Note it. Read it. God, whom you want to discover, never wrote that book with ink. Instead he set before your eyes the things that he had made. Can you ask for a louder voice than that?
Jesus Created this Spacebook
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible (Colossians 1:15-16)
Jesus used Spacebook to instruct people in the secrets of the Kingdom of God. This is also true of the writers of the Psalms, and it can be true of us today if we will just go out and immerse ourselves in God’s Creation like we do with other social media. Probably the largest body of evangelistic sermons, poems, and songs related to the awe-inspiring setting of creation is found in the Psalms. David was profoundly shaped by his wilderness experiences. In Psalm 8, he writes,
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, The moon and the stars, which you have ordained; What is man that you take thought of him, And the son of man that you care for him? (Psalm 8:3-4).
In the wilderness (through thoughtful observation of creation), we learn that neither man nor any other created being could have created what is visible. This points us to the existence of God:
The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech, and night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard (Psalm 19:1-3).
Through times of solitude in the wilderness, David’s heart was transformed and strengthened by the presence of the Lord:
Where can I go from your Spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, you are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there your hand will lead me, And your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,’ Even the darkness is not dark to you, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to you. For you formed my inward parts; you wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are your works, And my soul knows it very well. (Psalm 139:7-14)
The prophet Amos wrote:
For behold, he who forms mountains and creates the wind and declares to man what are his thoughts, he who makes dawn into darkness and treads on the high places of the earth, The Lord God of hosts is his name (Amos 4:13).
He points to the wonders of creation as he is attentive to the Lord’s sustaining hand: “He who made the Pleiades and Orion and changes deep darkness into morning, Who also darkens day into night, Who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, The Lord is his name” (Amos 5:8).
Isaiah marvels at the Lord’s greatness evidenced in his creation:
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the heavens by the span, and calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance and the hills in a pair of scales? Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as his counselor has informed him? (Isaiah 40:12-13)
Sign Up and Get Your Spacebook Password
It’s one thing to go out and enjoy the beauty of Creation, but is an even greater thing to go out and enjoy the Creator of the vast Creation we see. To do that, we must humble ourselves before God and approach Him on His terms. The Ancients have taught us that we can know God more fully and intimately as we spend time out in His Creation as we quietly allow our senses and spirit to be attentive to his voice speaking directly to us. Yet, we first have to sign up and get a password to fully enjoy it the way it was designed to be enjoyed. The writer of Hebrews says that we need a special password to enjoy fully this kind of intimate communication with God. That “password” is repentance of our sin and rebellion against God and a decision of faith in Jesus Christ as one’s Lord and Savior. The Bible doesn’t really give any other options.
By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11:3).
In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. (Hebrews 1:1-3)
Action Steps
- Share your comments below.
- Have you made a decision to put your faith in Jesus Christ? If you would like to know more about what it means to be a follower of Jesus, click here to get access to a Gospel presentation that walks through the message of Jesus in more detail.
- What is the main thing that is stopping you from developing a habit of spending time with God outdoors?
- If you’d like more input and ideas for how to connect with God through wilderness experiences, then I invite you to sign up for my newsletter.
