By Martin Morrison
“And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food”, Genesis 2:8 – 9.
The source of all beauty, all art, all music, all the aesthetically satisfying elements of life, is God. People can so often forget that. It did not arise out of the primordial slime or by chance nor fate. In Genesis 1, after every day or step of creation, God makes this profound statement, “And God saw that it was good”. And then at the end of the chapter, God looks at his whole created order and says, “And behold, it was very good”, Genesis 1:31. The words very good are a celebration of God’s wonderful world. It’s a celebration of the goodness of creation. There is a sense of joy and delight in creation. I sometimes feel pity for those who refuse to acknowledge that there is a God, because when they are bursting with thankfulness at a glorious sunset, they have no one to thank!
The same principle is taught in Genesis 2:8 -9, “And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden and …every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food”. So, God not only created a good world, but placed within that good world, beautiful trees and delicious food. It tells us that God is more than a utilitarian God. Obviously, God is concerned about our bodies and our souls. But he is equally concerned about beauty that is pleasing to the eye, an environment that is delightful to explore, food that melts in your mouth!
One of the indescribable joys of being a Christian, is that we can enjoy and celebrate the wonders of God’s world. We can delight and thank God for all the good things in life: Mozart, art, flowers, gardens, beetles, friendship, rap music, sex, spiced food, cappuccino coffee, chocolate. There are countless things in creation, which have no economic value whatsoever, but they are there because they are beautiful. And simply by being beautiful they give glory to God. They fulfil the purpose for which God created them. That is their value and their value is inestimable.
It pains me when I drive around some parts of the city, and there are townhouses and office blocks which are unbelievably ugly. They are purely functional. Purely utilitarian. Like some of the old apartment blocks in communist Russia, blocks of cement, steel and glass. Totally cold and heartless, totally uninviting, an in-your-face expression of a two-dimensional philosophy which has no God and therefore no beauty! The two so often go together. I know full well, that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but ugly is self-evident! Surely, instead of a block of classrooms that has no beauty or character, all it needs is an architect who thinks of a gable, or wall paint that compliments the colour of the roof. All it needs is someone to plant some trees, to bring shade and character and a softness to the eye.
Neil Fraser was one of the early pioneers in the rejuvenation of Johannesburg, for which he won international awards. Neil who loves God, wasn’t only concerned about eradicating refuse, graffiti, crime and corruption in the city, but was committed to the principles of Genesis 1 – 2, that a liveable city needs trees, green lungs to breathe, art, fountains of water and birds.
I remember Neil showing me dozens of photographs he had taken from all over the world of rubbish bins. Imagine! He was busy with the rejuvenation of Gandhi Square in the older part of Johannesburg. The square needed dustbins, but Neil was not satisfied with merely functional dustbins. He wanted beautiful dustbins, dustbins that looked aesthetically pleasing. Surely, that’s the mind and heart of a Christian, modelling themselves on God, who is a God of beauty and beautiful dustbins! Neil once said, “People don’t just need a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs, they need to stay in a place that is not brutal, which doesn’t crush their spirit”.
What that means, is that you give God great glory, when you cook a delicious meal, when you place a beautiful rug or a bunch of flowers in your lounge. You give God great glory when you sing a song, mow the lawn, change a nappy (it clears the air!) or bake a batch of scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam!
“The Lord God made to spring up every tree that is
pleasant to the sight and good for food”.