“O Lord our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth! Who hast set Thy glory above the heavens.” Psalms 8:1.
Not many people travel to the deep northern parts of Canada, Greenland and the Yukon where forests suddenly end and tundra and ice begin. This area is cold and uninviting to all except the most adventuresome. Still, it is part of our world and God’s wonderful creation. To us it is a strange and mysterious region, but to Him it is a place of purpose for some life forms that are always under His watchful care.
Trees in this forest border are mostly small and weather-beaten, some barely rising above ground level, but they provide homes for hardy birds, animals and insects. Birds such as bluejays, grouse, owls, ptarmigan and others thrive on the insects, as well as the berries and seeds in the tundra. Here, too, can be found squirrels, martens and foxes. Other animals such as moose, caribou and musk-oxen prefer open tundra where there is good grazing, but they return to the shelter of the trees in winter.
Tundra in most places is covered with brush and grass, but just a few feet down, the ground is frozen hard, so is unsuitable for big trees. To the eye, this tundra appears as endless as the ocean — a lonely and rather frightening place. Its black, sticky soil, however, supports dense growths of low shrubs, moss, lichens and many kinds of berry bushes.
In late summer this great expanse exhibits beautiful colors. Blueberries, billberries and others, together with the leaves of their bushes, change to red, purple, blue and other colors, and the entire landscape is changed into a thing of beauty. At the same time, the birch, willow and aspen trees at the tundra’s edge add lovely yellows, reds and browns. Over it all at nighttime an added spectacle sweeps the sky — the amazing Northern Lights shimmering across the whole expanse, piercing the darkness with striking forms and colors.
But, with the exception of a few adventurers and some native Indians, only birds and animals see this beautiful part of God’s creation. However, when we remember that the Bible says of the Creator, “for Thy pleasure they are and were created” (Rev. 4:11), we see that this beauty is not wasted. The One who has included it in His creation has great pleasure in looking on it.
Don’t you wish you could see all this? We may never see anything like it on earth. But for those who love the Lord Jesus Christ and know Him as their Saviour, there is a promise that we will see and be part of the glories of heaven itself, which surpass the grandest of all earthly beauty. Will you be included with those who will enjoy that for all eternity in the presence of the Saviour who gave His life for all who trust in Him?
ML-02/16/1986