Beauty is Created by God

If God was a purely practical, technical God, then he could have created the world to be a much more streamlined place - it could have been all black and white and square and plain.

But he didn't. He created a complex and intricate world, with wonder at every turn. And he created us with a mind that appreciates what is around us.

When I drive home from work, coming around one particular bend on the highway is a tree. It has no leaves on it, and never has in the three years I've been driving past it. It's dead. But where it stands, its bare, grey branches stretched out, silhouetted against an ever changing background with the shifting seasons and changing light - it is a symbol of the perfection and beauty of God's creation. He even created trees to grow into a shape that we find pleasing and beautiful. Even a dead tree.

It's no accident that our hearts are filled with peace and joy at the sight of a sunset, the majesty of snow on the mountains, a wide, open African plain.

And it's no accident that God placed that tree there - he knew how often I would be driving home and need a lift after a day at work. I'm sure it's there as a gift just for me! :)

I stopped to take a photo - but a photo doesn't quite capture it.