Extravagant Creation

The American theologian and philosopher, Jonathan Edwards, once wrote:

"God in the redemption of Christ does not only provide for our salvation from misery, but provides for us positive blessedness and glory."

So also His creation of the universe: God could have formed but one star, our Sun, to warm us and provide light to green plants for food, but instead He has filled the heavens with an innumerable starry host for His own glory and our delight! And He could have given us just a few plants and animals to sustain us, but has lavished us with a cornucopia of foods—many possessing wonderful tastes and textures and colors! God in Christ could have supplied drab meadows to fill the mouths of His wild animals, but so often sews a rich tapestry of multicolored plants and flowers into environments, and with such extravagance, as to shock our minds and fill our hearts with ineffeable joy!

Excerpt from Images or Shadows of Divine Things #188