It's an amazing thing to contemplate isn't it! Often I find myself looking up at the mountain and thinking of the power and majesty of creator God. This is quite natural for anyone and in theological terms it's called "General Revelation" - it's the part of creation that speaks to all the earth about the presence of God. Everyone can see it and everyone is invited to consider God as we get a glimpse at his wonder.
However the other day I found myself thinking about the mountain in a different way. I was driving through the Hub and I saw the sight above. It took my breath away and I quickly whipped out my phone to take a bunch of photos. The shot above is one of those photos. Being as humble as I can manage to be, I think that this is one of the most amazing photos from the Hawera side of the mountain that I have ever seen (modesty aside...hehe).
It struck me that this mountain was saying something more to me than a Gen-eral Revelation of a powerful, majestic, creator God. It was also telling me about a God who is delightful and loves to delight us. All shrouded with cloud, sur-rounded by beautiful colours; as clear as can be, this mountain was speaking to me about the joy of God. My heart was thrilled by the sight and my spirits raised to praise our delightful God.
God didn't just create the world to prove a point, his creation is there as part of the way that he shows his love for us. He loves to lavish us all by filling our senses and delighting our soul. He invites us to wake up and smell the roses.
Arohanui,
Pastor David Auty