Nature's Greatest Purpose

Among my friends and family, I have always been, and will always be, "the nature girl."  The beauty of the natural world drew me in from a young age, compelling me to explore and learn, and the more I have experienced and learned, the more deeply I have fallen in love with nature.  I assume if you're reading this, there's a good chance you feel the same!  But why do we feel this way?

For me, an admiration for nature is far from where it ends.  A deep love for the natural, created world is just the beginning, continuously drawing me toward something much, much bigger.

There are several theories floating around out there that have been put forward to explain our "biophilia," the ingrained desire and need humans have for connecting with the natural world.  Nearly all of them recognize that humans are in some way bound to nature at the deepest level, relating strong, positive connections with the natural world to human health, happiness and well-being.  I certainly don't disagree!  But from my point of view, this still falls short of the true mark.  

Allow me a few moments to elaborate on the worldview I personally hold to, as we consider the question: 

What is the purpose of nature?

Nature meets our practical, physical needs

At the most basic, prosaic level, the natural world performs the practical function of meeting our physical needs.  

Literally everything we, as humans, need for life and the building of civilization is found in nature.  Though plenty of things in the modern age are created in labs, for thousands of years civilizations existed and thrived on largely locally sourced natural resources: plants and animals for food, medicine, shelter and clothing; water for drinking, bathing and cleaning; timber for cooking, heating and building; soil for growing crops to nourish families and livestock; clay and stone for construction; ore and metals for making tools, forging iron and eventually creating steel.  The list is endless, and we clearly have the natural world to thank for life as we know it!

But on a deeper level, this complete meeting of our needs is a testament to the perfect design of our Creator, his providence and care for his creation.  In his infinite wisdom, our Creator God has met all of our needs, giving us even beyond what we need, all through the vehicle of his created natural world.  There should be great comfort found in that truth.  Despite all humanity has done to mar the beauty and deplete the resources of the natural world, the Lord sees fit to continue to renew them - for now.  

Yes, the world will end one day, probably largely due to what we, in our greed and hubris, have done to it, but this will not occur outside the will of God, for whom that level of catastrophic destruction is reserved and who promises one day to renew all things.  (See 2 Peter 3:10-13)  But perhaps that's a topic for another day.  

The natural world was created to sustain life, specifically human life, and it was intended that we protect it!

Nature meets our emotional needs for pleasure and enjoyment 

Everything out there is a gift: every raindrop, every bird, every blossom.  We have merely to open our eyes and arms to receive!  

The plants and animals that provide us with food and fiber are much more than utilitarian.  They are also dazzling in their beauty, fascinating in their complexity, and often excellent companions, making us smile and laugh.  Plants and animals bring us joy and delight, I believe, because they were intended to!  The beauty of nature is supposed to fill us with awe and wonder, and cause all sorts of good feelings to well up inside us.  Just being exposed to nature has been proven again and again to reduce stress, and promote feelings of well-being and kindness in humans.  

Connecting with nature is healing, restoring and all-around good for us, and I believe this is because the gifts of nature remind us of and connect us to their Giver, the one who created them.  We are filled with joy in the presence of the Lord (see Psalm 16:11), and here on earth I often experience a hint of that joy when I am surrounded by the beauty of Creation!  

I believe that the positive feelings all humans, regardless of what they believe, experience when spending time in nature are tiny glimpses of the joy that fills us when we choose to dwell in the presence of the Lord.

Nature teaches us humility, makes us feel small, and causes us to realize we don't know it all!

We must get over the idea that humility is a negative thing.  Humility is beautiful; pride is the ugly one.  Pride is the ultimate human failing, lurking at the root of just about all the bad there is in this world.  

Humility, on the other hand, makes space for kindness, love, forgiveness and mercy.  Humility ultimately brings repentance, and with repentance, restoration.  

We can all use a healthy dose of humility now and then, and what better way to take our medicine than to sit beneath the vast expanse of an immensely dark sky, filled with innumerable stars and relish the feeling of complete and utter smallness that washes over us.  Or to lay our palms against a chunk of metamorphic rock, rock that was once hot and molten, cooling and compressing under extreme pressure in the depths of the earth, and contemplate the billions of years it took to create that stone, compared with the short time we have been given on this incredible planet.  

That, my friend, is humility.  Embrace it.  

But know this: 

Just because you are small, you are not insignificant; just because your life is fleeting, does not mean it is not valuable; just because you are humble and meek, you are not overlooked or forgotten.  You are seen, by the God of the Universe, and you have a purpose.  

You matter to him, Dearly Beloved in His Sight.  

Nature teaches us obedience

Our world is one of created order, not chaos.  Every law of physics and mathematics, every chemical formula, every rule of the natural world is true and constant because our God is the God of truth, order and constancy.  And his laws are good.  (See Psalm 119:1-11)

Nature obeys the laws he set in place; the earth revolves in its orbit, the sea stays within its bounds, the seasons change, the birds migrate, the tides ebb and flow, all according to his created order, the laws God has firmly established.  We know that spring will come again; we know rain will fall again; we know the sun will rise again; we know these things because our God created an orderly world.  

Predator consumes prey, drought and wildfires and insect pests ravage the land, life on earth ultimately comes to an end.  We may not particularly like these laws, but they are still part of God's created world and are ultimately good, used for God's divine purposes.  After all, his thoughts are not our thoughts, nor his ways our ways.  (See Isaiah 55:8-9)

Because creation obeys him, so must we.  

Nature praises God!

Every flower, bird song, wind song, and sunrise praises God!  Even the mountains burst into song and the trees clap their hands for joy at the Word of the Lord, metaphorically speaking!  (See Isaiah 55:12)  We were created to join with all of creation in wild, unbridled, joyful praise, to let our hearts overflow with joy, giving thanks for life and all that we receive! 

In Revelation we are given a glimpse of heaven, the Holy Throne of God, where the heavenly beings  eternally praise God, saying:

"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." 
 Revelation 4:11 NIV

We praise God because he is the Creator and Sustainer of all things.  Because he created us, we praise him.  

Whether we praise the Lord in the stillness and quietness of our own hearts, or in joyful shouts on a mountaintop, praise him we must, because that is what we were designed to do!  

Praise him in quiet moments of reflection, as the sunrise reflects on the glassy surface of a mountain lake.  

Praise him through the tears and pain, as the roar of wildfire brings devastation and renewal.  

Praise him in times of joy and laughter and celebration, as jubilant birdsong fills the air and riotous wildflowers paint the hills.  

Praise him, praise him, praise him!

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Psalm 150:6 NIV

But nature's greatest purpose, its most significant role, is one I have only been alluding to all along:

Nature points to its Creator and reveals His character

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Romans 1:20  NIV

Nature does its job well: it provides for us, it refreshes us, it teaches us.  But above and beyond everything else, nature points to its Creator.

No, nature shouts of its Creator!  

Nature loudly declares God's magnificent, eternal power, and infinite, divine wisdom, through every atom of matter on the planet!  

All of the purposes of nature come together to culminate in this ultimate purpose: to tell us about our wonderful creator God.  

God uses nature, in all its forms, to reach out to us.

He wants us to notice and wonder.  He wants us to admire and appreciate.  He wants us to express our thanks.  But he doesn't just want us to notice and admire nature; that is merely the beginning.  He wants, more than anything, for us to wonder and explore and fall in love, and through our interactions with his Creation, to come to know and love himself.  

God uses Creation to teach us about himself, to show us his wisdom, power, care, order, creativity, love of beauty, and love for us. 

Everything in nature is stamped with the signature of its Maker, from the microscopic to the immense.  Every cell speaks of his delicate, gentle care for each intricate detail, no matter now infinitesimally small.  Every scene of natural beauty speaks of his own beauty.  His love for creation is apparent in every vital piece of each widely varied ecosystem.  Every starry night speaks of his eternal power, a majesty that is without bounds, without end, and, if we're honest, utterly beyond comprehension.

The ultimate purpose of nature is to captivate us with its beauty and wonder, to draw us out of ourselves, to point to our Creator, and to cause us to fall continuously more deeply in love with him, as we fall in love with his creation.

If that is nature's purpose, what is our purpose?

As created beings, image-bearers of God created to steward the natural world he gave us, we can learn a great deal about our own purpose from the purposes of nature.  

We were created for each other, for other people, for community and relationships, to love and serve others, to put the needs of others before our own, to be kind, grateful and generous.  We were created to enjoy life, to live lives of abundant love and thanksgiving, mercy and grace, joy and peace, lives of humble obedience, submitted to God out of love and reverence for him.  We were created to love and praise God, to guide others toward him, and to care for his good creation.  

To be in love with nature is to feel the draw of the Creator and Sustainer of the natural world.  

To yearn for beauty in wilderness, to feel tears well up at the sight of the sunrise over mountain peaks or the sound of the dawn chorus, to feel a heart-rending tug in the depths of your soul at the very power and majesty of the natural world, is to experience the invitation to enter into a relationship with the God of the Universe.  

Our purpose is to respond to the call of our Creator.