One Gigantic Sign from God
Bible Reading: Acts 17:19-28—For in him we live and move and exist. Acts 17:28
Spring had finally sprung, and Amelia couldn’t wait to get her hands back in the dirt. She remembered how last spring her family turned over the hard soil in a patch of their backyard and created a garden. Her mom planted seeds and her little sister wa¬tered them. They watched day by day for them to sprout. Warm spring sunlight coaxed green from the moist earth. And then raindrops gently beaded on the leaves in their backyard garden. Later in the summer the garden yielded every sort of taste sensation—tomatoes, zucchini, lettuce, and carrots.
Amelia had to admit that she didn’t care much for vegetables. Some of God’s gifts were so good for her that she preferred to eat them smothered in an extra bless¬ing of cheese sauce. Even so, she knew that all around her were miracles of God’s provision. It’s amazing: From dirt, water, sun, and seeds come God’s tasty care for us. Daily. And lots of it.
Talk about it: Look around you and name ten things you see that show God’s handiwork. Run to a window if you need to. (But then come back!)
Your whole world is like a big blinking sign that says God cares about you. The apostle Paul once told a group of unbelievers that God “has shown kindness by giv¬ing you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy” (Acts 14:17, NIV). The green ripeness of a garden, the beauty of a mountain, the intricate design of the tiniest cell swimming in a puddle—they’re all signs of God’s love.
Paul also wrote that every human being can see enough about God in nature to convince us that God exists. We can figure out that he made us and cares for our needs. Even people who say they don’t believe in God can clearly see “[God’s] eternal power and all the things that make him God” (Romans 1:20, NCV). He’s not a God stuck way up in the sky but one who cares about the earth he made and the creatures who live on it.
Nature sings that God’s love is real. Maybe you’ve never looked at a zucchini as proof of God’s care. But every carrot and falling star and snowcapped mountain cry out that God cares for you.
TALK: When you look at the way God has provided a good world for you, do you feel loved?
PRAY: God, thanks for putting beauty all around us. Thanks for showing your care for us by providing for our needs.
ACT: Go outside and collect signs of God’s provision for us and the other creatures he made. Make a collage or a collection to remind you of God’s care.