How many are your works, Lord!
    In wisdom you made them all;
    the earth is full of your creatures.
 There is the sea, vast and spacious,
    teeming with creatures beyond number—
    living things both large and small. – Psalm 104:24-25

I have a lot more to share from our vacation with the grandchildren, so I thought I would return to the beach for this Sunday morning post.

A lot of people who say they “believe in God but don’t go to church,” or “I don’t believe in organized religion” point to the beauty and the grandeur of creation as “my place of worship.”

I hear you, and the beach really is a “thin place” but don’t you think Christians see God in nature too? Don’t you think that the “organized religion” people also have spiritual experiences at the beach, in the mountains, watching a river? We don’t go to church instead of finding God in nature, we go because we do.

Fact is, getting up early to enjoy the tranquility of the beach doesn’t make church unnecessary, it invites us in. Church makes sense of the natural world, and it is the place where I can be encouraged by other believers, where I can celebrate the goodness of God, where I can follow the teachings of Jesus and where I can walk with others along the way.

Jesus invites us to be in community, to love one another, and to advertise the good news of reconciliation through the beauty of support and encouragement that plays out in the context of church.

So here are a few more photos from the beach. This spiritual moment is not a substitute for church, it gives me more reason to go.

Think of it this way: if we were imagined, designed and created for the purpose of living into the potential God has for us, then why would we be anywhere else but in a place of worship Sunday mornings?

It’s not obligation, it is invitation – the invitation to truly come home. I can’t imagine anything else that comes close.

I am convinced that those who have decided public worship is not “their thing” are confused, because – given the clear message we have through the “cathedral of creation” – it’s not supposed to be “our thing” it is God’s thing, and church is as necessary as the air we breathe.

In love, and because of love – DEREK