Rector’s Ramblings

One of my favourite past-times is taking photographs.  It's a hobby that started when I was in my teenage and I remember the excitement I felt when I had enough money to buy my first SLR (single lens reflex) camera.  Today this hobby and ability to take photographs has become universal as now almost everyone has got a camera in their pocket on their mobile phone.  With digital photography has come the ability to see our images instantly.  No longer do we need to wait a week for them to come back to the Chemist’s or through the post.  We can also adjust the images and zoom in on certain parts – even removed unwanted parts of the photo. 

One of the things I enjoy taking photographs of is flowers.  I love the challenge of getting the focus and depth of field just right and how much I can influence the result by using the camera settings to produce either an in focus, or out of focus background.  But one of the truly stunning things is that with high resolution photographs, with many millions of tiny dots making up the image, you can zoom in to a very small area of the image and discover some amazing detail that you just don’t notice by looking at things at their actual size. It is truly fascinating to see such detail and such complexity.  It makes you ask the question; “Why?”

Now, the former engineer in me says that the best way to design and make something is to make it as simply as possible and as effectively as possible so that the item can fulfil the role that was intended for it.  But when we look at nature and all the things of the world around us we see that in many ways the opposite seems to be true.  There is a lot of beauty and complexity that seems to be unnecessary, and yet it is there.  The natural world is in many ways far more complex than anything we humans can produce, perhaps reminding us of our rightful place as part of that beauty and complexity and not simply controlling it or using it solely for our own benefit.  

The Psalms in the Old Testament, have always been for me a great source of comfort and of help in understanding the place of humanity in the world in relationship with God and all that he has created and done.  Psalm 8 talks about our relationship with God and how marvelous it is that God cares for us when he is able to do such great things in creation; Psalm 19 talks about the wonder of each returning day as the sun rises and sets; Psalm 90 tells us of God's eternal nature; and a favourite of many, Psalm 139 speaks of how we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” and how God is intimately acquainted with us and all that we do. 

We have been entrusted with this complex and beautiful world, to look after it and care for it.  How we live has a direct affect on the world around us and particularly on the poorest people on the planet.  Knowing that God has created this wonderful and beautiful and complex world and us along with it, we should be trying to do all that we can to preserve it and be good stewards of it.  

I hope as you enjoy the days of summer and perhaps have the opportunity to get out into God's creation and enjoy it (maybe even taking some photographs) that you will give thanks to God for all that he has done and given us and have a renewed commitment to do all that we can to look after it.  

Wishing you every blessing

Tim