"A tree gives glory to God by being a tree.
For in being what God means it to be it is obeying Him.
It 'consents', so to speak, to His creative love.
It is expressing an idea which is in God and which is not distinct from the essence of God,
and therefore a tree imitates God by being a tree.
The more a tree is like itself, the more it is like Him.
If it tried to be something else which it was never intended to be,
it would be less like God and therefore give Him less glory.
No two created beings are exactly alike. And their individuality is no imperfection.
On the contrary, the perfection of each created thing is not merely in its conformity to an abstract type but in its own individual identity with itself.
This particular tree will give glory to God by spreading out its roots in the earth and raising its branches into the air and the light in a way that no other tree before or after it ever did or will do...
The special clumsy beauty of this particular colt
on this April day in this field under these clouds
is a holiness consecrated to God by God's own creative wisdom
and it declares the glory of God.
For in being what God means it to be it is obeying Him.
It 'consents', so to speak, to His creative love.
It is expressing an idea which is in God and which is not distinct from the essence of God,
and therefore a tree imitates God by being a tree.
The more a tree is like itself, the more it is like Him.
If it tried to be something else which it was never intended to be,
it would be less like God and therefore give Him less glory.
No two created beings are exactly alike. And their individuality is no imperfection.
On the contrary, the perfection of each created thing is not merely in its conformity to an abstract type but in its own individual identity with itself.
This particular tree will give glory to God by spreading out its roots in the earth and raising its branches into the air and the light in a way that no other tree before or after it ever did or will do...
The special clumsy beauty of this particular colt
on this April day in this field under these clouds
is a holiness consecrated to God by God's own creative wisdom
and it declares the glory of God.
The pale flowers of the dogwood outside this window are saints.
The little yellow flowers that nobody notices on the edge of that road
are saints looking up into the face of God.
This leaf has it own texture and its own pattern of veins and its own holy shape,
and the bass and trout hiding in the deep pools of the river
are canonized by their beauty and their strength.
The lakes hidden among the hills are saints,
and the sea too is a saint who praises God without interruption in her majestic dance."
-Thomas Merton,
an excerpt from "Things in Their Identity",
from New Seeds of Contemplation
The little yellow flowers that nobody notices on the edge of that road
are saints looking up into the face of God.
This leaf has it own texture and its own pattern of veins and its own holy shape,
and the bass and trout hiding in the deep pools of the river
are canonized by their beauty and their strength.
The lakes hidden among the hills are saints,
and the sea too is a saint who praises God without interruption in her majestic dance."
-Thomas Merton,
an excerpt from "Things in Their Identity",
from New Seeds of Contemplation
2 comments:
love your blog! so glad i found it!
Em thank you so much for sending this to us. It's been so so good to think about, especially the past few days. Love you lots! We're excited you're going to be closer to us soon :)
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