Sun-Worship

We have been at the beach this week with all our family and with my husband's family, and what a wonderful week it has been! There is just nothing quite like the serene beauty of the waves gently breaking on the shore and the green of the marshes set against the blue of the sound. I sit here in the quiet early morning looking out the window at the surf and the soft yellow sand and the swaying reeds on the dunes, and I praise our Sovereign Creator for His magnificent handiwork! The heavens declare the glory of God... but so does the vast expanse of the sea and the minute sand particles and the soaring birds and the verdant marshes.

And of course, the sun. The brilliant, powerful sun that bathes us in warmth and illuminates the beauty all around us. This week I have been reading Eric Metaxas' wonderful book on Dietrich Bonhoeffer. So inspiring and convicting. But the other day, as I sat enveloped in warmth of the sun, reading on the beach, surrounded by my family (there should be a "Life is good" tee shirt for those moments!) I came upon this quote from Bonhoeffer: "The sun has always attracted me, and I've often been reminded by it that human beings were taken from the earth and don't just consist of thin air and thoughts. So much so that once, when I went to Cuba to preach there at Christmas, and exchanged the ice of North America for its luxuriant tropical vegetation, I almost succumbed to sun-worship and could hardly remember what I was really supposed to preach. It was a genuine crisis, and a hint of it assails me every summer when I get to feel the sun." (You can also seen a hint of Bonhoeffer's terrific sense of humor in this passage!)

But it is so true! We get to the beach just once a year, but, O, when we come, I could nearly succumb to sun and sea worship! And for us, the joy is intensified many times over by being with the ones we love, as life slows down for just a few days and we can sit and read and chat and swim and eat copious amounts of Dairy Queen ice cream. How much we take for granted every single day! The simple joys of God's creation, our families, a great book, food to eat, and freedom to enjoy them all. I am reading of Bonhoeffer courageously fighting against at the approaching horrors of Hitler and the Nazis as they devoured the nation of Germany and the doomed Jews, and I cannot help but be humbled and grateful for this flawed but free and wonderful nation where we live. Might we daily be filled not only with thankfulness but also with courage and determination to live every single day to make His name great and to bring Him glory. We have only this tiny little time and space to make a difference for eternity by living for Him and through Him and in Him. Might we do it today with joy and gratitude and stout determination. To God be the glory.