At the Center

The hummingbird whistles by, searching for its food as the fire crackles in the brisk morning air. Dew gathers slowly on the pine needles, and the steam rises silently from the slow-moving river as the sun crests the horizon. I take in a deep, refreshing breath of the new mountain air as the kids begin their day scampering up and down the wooded hills and my wonderful wife begins a soon-to-be tasty breakfast. What is this about? It’s about God.

I love camping. Actually, I love camping with my family. I love the sounds, the smells, and the smiles. I love rafting down the Platte, sleeping in a tent, and roasting marshmallows by the fire. Why do I love these things? I love them because through them my heart fills with awe and appreciation for God.

Over the last several years I have encountered a wide spectrum of experiences. I have spent many weekends enjoying the outdoors with my family and many weekdays hanging sheet metal from ceilings. I have spent hours upon hours contemplating the preconditions of thought, science and morality and then turned around and taken in the beauty of a Pikes Peak sunset with my family close by my side. I have listened to the glorious songs of praise from beloved saints and run the bases during an evening softball game. In the midst of all of this came this realization: None of these wondrous things are ends in themselves. Not a one. Not nature, nor fire, not food, not even family. All of these things are means, means to an end: worshipping God. It’s all about God. All of these experiences are gifts, echoes of the Excellency of God, given to delight myself in the One who gave them. It is so easy to turn gifts into idols and make them the ultimate objects of our affection, but only when those things serve to draw us nearer to God do they become all that they were meant to be. They all serve to give our souls greater satisfaction in the only truly satisfying thing: God Himself.

All of life must always be to this end. All that we do with our families and in our homeschools must have this as its ultimate goal: That God would be the final and ultimate object of our affections. That is what it means to be God-centered. Everything that we do should add to the awe and hunger of people for God as His’ majesty is more fully revealed. This summer make it a point to enjoy your family, creation, and, most of all, the God that gave them to you.
Soli Deo Gloria!