Creation's 'Liquorice Allsorts'

The sight of rain streaming down the windows, the howl of the wind, and the fact that you might have to drive to work in the darkening mornings – and possibly other signs as well – tell you that summer is over for another year.  I wonder if you managed to visit a spectacular garden somewhere, or perhaps attend a flower show.    Someone once said, “You’re closer to God in a garden, than any other place on earth.”  Certainly it’s a place where you can see some of the most beautiful aspects of His creation.

What a variety!  I’ve never been a ‘flower person’, but even I can appreciate the subtle shades of a dahlia, the autumnal tones of a chrysanthemum, the simplicity of the daisy and the complexity of the iris, the solid richness of a ruby red rose and the delicate tint of some of the hedgerow roses that are almost white ... but not quite.  And that’s before we even consider the scents!

Certainly our Creator God was a master of variety – and still is, of course, if we think of Him working through the skills of the gardeners and hybridisers – and yet, as my recollection of school biology lessons tells me, the components of all flowers are basically the same: sepals, petals, stigma, style and ovary.

But flowers are by far not the only species where there is tremendous variety.  Look at mankind himself.  Look again at what I said about flowers:  subtle, autumnal, simplicity, complexity, solid richness, delicacy; words that could equally apply to people, in either their appearance or their personality.  In people, as in flowers, a wide variety may exist, but each is made of the same basic components: head, torso and limbs; flesh and muscle, skin and bones; brain and heart, lungs and liver and all the other organs ... whatever the colour, ethnicity, nationality or language.

In his letter to the Romans, where he outlines and justifies so many aspects of theology, Paul wrote about the many differences between people, and how we should react to them (Romans 15:7-13).  The principal difference the Romans had to contend with was, of course, between Jews (those who considered themselves to be the ‘chosen’ people) and Gentiles (everyone else).  To help them in this apparent conflict, Paul quotes from scripture time and again (vv. 9-12) to illustrate how the Gentiles were always considered by God as recipients of His grace.

Do you find it easy to seek the well-being of “all sorts and conditions of men; that God would be pleased to make His ways known to them, His saving health to all nations”? (Book of Common Prayer: ‘Occasional Prayers no. 31’ [in modern English]).

How do you react to the diversity of God’s creation?