God's Generosity

This week I treated myself to the luxury of just sitting and looking at the leaves of my crotons.  I actually have two varieties growing in pots: a broad leaf and a spiral. Both have beautiful colored leaves; some orange, others red, green, yellow; some a combination of them all.

            Did you know there are nine major croton leaf types? Neither did I until I looked it up.  But imagine all this diversity in just one species of plant!  Now what that makes me think of is God’s incredible generosity.  He could have created only one croton leaf type. In fact, He could have made every plant in the world this one type of croton.

Think about that!

But He didn’t.  Instead, He created an infinite variety of plants, plants of all colors, shapes and sizes.  Plants that give off wonderful perfumes. Others that do not.  Plants that delight the eye. Others that serve a more functional purpose.   

Scientific volumes have been written about plants.  They are also fodder for love stories, as in Shakespear’s Romeo and Juiet, “that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet;” for poems, as Keats’ Ode to a Nightingale, “My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains, my sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk.”

But to me, the enormous variety of plant life here on planet earth is a great illustration of God’s generous nature. He has given us so much to enjoy. The Bible says that Jesus is the creator; that He made all things for His pleasure. But I think it goes without saying that He created the things of this earth for our pleasure, too.  And just as all creations reflect their creator (think of films, music, books, paintings, etc.) so God’s creations reflect His nature, His character. And from what I see, I know there is nothing stingy about God; nothing boring, or ordinary, or static. He truly is great!

Until next week,

Sylvia