A few weeks ago I had the joy of attending Campus Crusade's National Staff Conference in beautiful Ft. Collins, CO. When I arrived, the first thing to hit me was the view of the mountains. They are absolutely incredible. A few days later some friends and I went hiking up the mountains, and I had one of those moments where I felt so small and insignificant in comparison to the amazing view laid out before me. God's handiwork in creating this world was being given new meaning in my life.
As I gazed out over the tops of the mountains, I imagined the Creator molding each one in His hands, placing every rock where it belonged. And as I stood there taking in the beauty of those mountains, I realized how perfectly creation reflects the majesty of God the Creator.
As I was staring at the view, Psalm 139:13 came to mind: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb...intricately woven in the depths of the earth." This made me realize that each of God's creations are evidence of His amazing handiwork.
I am one of God's children, which means that when He looks at His mountains, sunsets and starry skies, the love He feels and beauty He sees is nothing compared to the love and beauty He experiences when He looks at me. 1 John 3:1 states, "how great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!"
And more specifically, we can know that the kind of love that our Father and Creator has for us is so great because of the gift He gave us when He sent His son to die on the cross for us. 1 John 3:16 says, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us."
So instead of feeling small and insignificant when I looked out over the beautiful mountains, I felt immensely loved and beautiful. As God looks out at His entire creation, the mountains He formed with His own hands, I like to picture God's own Son walking under these same stars, stars set in place by His Father's hands.
I like to think of Jesus praying on mountainsides just like the mountainsides I beheld first hand. And I can imagine God, giving His most precious gift, as He watched His Son walking to the top of a hill and hanging on a cross.
For me.
"I have called you by name, you are mine.
Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored,
and I love you.
Everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made."
Isaiah 43:1,4,7
