All of Creation

While riding through Bishopville, SC, on our way to visit family across the state, we passed this statue of arguably the town's most famous individual. There are other Bishopville notables, but the Lizard Man is by far the most unusual. A cryptid who lives in the nearby swamps and is spotted by campers and hikers and those enjoying some quality nature time, he has his own festival as well as this attractive statue. When I spotted him in his Christmas attire, I immediately demanded we do a u-turn to get a picture of him and my talented and accommodating daughter, Rachel, took this picture for me.

And then, because this is the way my brain works and we'd been listening to Joy to the World calling, "Let heaven and nature sing!" I thought of how wide and varied and immeasurable God's creation is and how every single creature on heaven and on earth and under the earth from humans to crocodiles, from puppies to platypuses to strange and wonderful beasts we might not even know about all await the redemption of creation promised by Jesus' birth. So even if you think I'm a little nutty to give credence to the possible existence of legendary lizards, I hope this statue can serve to remind us all of the wideness of God's creativity and mercy in sending his son to provide redemption for us and all creation.

Romans 18-21 (Philips Translation) In my opinion whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future God has planned for us. The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own. The world of creation cannot as yet see reality, not because it chooses to be blind, but because in God’s purpose it has been so limited—yet it has been given hope. And the hope is that in the end the whole of created life will be rescued from the tyranny of change and decay, and have its share in that magnificent liberty which can only belong to the children of God!