Ang katotohanan tungkol sa Diyos ay tinalikuran at pinalitan nila ng kasinungalingan. Sinamba nila at pinaglingkuran ang mga nilikha, sa halip na ang lumikha, na siyang dapat papurihan magpakailanman! Amen.

Mga Taga-Roma 1:25

Nakatanggap si Ken ng message, a screenshot showing a conversation between his sister and his 14-year-old niece. It was a theological question that the mom could not answer: “If God created everything and He is everywhere, is it OK to worship God through nature?”  

May mga naniniwala that God and nature are one as God manifests Himself in His creation. They think that the worship of God is the worship of nature. Let’s take this verse: “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). Yes, the sky does offer a display of God’s magnificent creation — the sun, moon and stars — 24/7. And ancient worship practices tied to these celestial bodies continue to have significant cultural impact today. Some rely on astrology to guide them, reading their daily horoscope to know whether it will be a good day or not. Also, there is the celebrated Chinese Lunar Calendar that determines one’s path for the year. Is this God, through nature, dictating life?  

But God made it very clear that He alone is to be worshiped. Sinabi Niya, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). But He also knew that man always looks for tangible things to hold on to. So, He warned of making carved images that included “anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (vv.4–5). That’s all about nature! 

The intricate beauty of creation points to a Creator — God. Man spins this into a lie, making a mess for everyone. Para tayong mga Roman believer during Apostle Paul’s time, about whom he said, “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator… ” (Romans 1:25a, ESV).

To help his sister answer her daughter’s question, Ken summed it all up this way: “You have to understand that God exists and is eternal, separate from nature, His creation, which is passing away.”