High in the mountains near our home is a trail that threads its way, rising and falling down the side of a steep canyon. It leads to a stream that passes first through a castle-like heap of boulders, then flows gently through deep, mossy woods. It's a peaceful, quiet area where wild flowers bloom in fragile beauty—a secluded, seldom-visited place.

Even if no one ever saw this place, it would still be beautiful, because God creates beauty for its own sake. But the marvelous thing is that He created this beauty for anyone who will receive it, as a visible expression of His creativity and His love. This is my reason to look into nature, my reason to explore.

I worship and thank God for this restful hideaway. With David, I exclaim, "O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions" (Psalm 104:24).

I feel sorry for those who worship nature itself and who do not know God, its Creator. When they come to places like this, they have no one to thank.

We who know God recognize Him in creation, and can always thank Him for showing His love in such beautiful ways.  —DHR  — David H. Roper