The Greatest National Park - There is no doubt that Yosemite is one of the most beautiful National Parks in the United States, and possible in the world for that matter. Most of the four and a half million visitors each year would certainly testify to that fact. But as awe inspiring as Yosemite's landscape is, the Bible tells us that "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him" (1st Corinthians 2:9) In other words, God is preparing a place for those who love Him that far exceeds the most beautiful places here on earth.

In the Yosemite Valley visitor center, there is a plaque hanging in one of the display rooms that has a writing by environmentalist David Brower who wrote the following in 1991: "There are not many places left where we, ourselves, can choose whether to exploit or leave wild. Although the budget of natural things may have looked unlimited to, grandfather, we know it is a finite budget. Wilderness is a fragile thing. People can break it but they cannot make it. And we are quite capable, in our own time, of breaking it all; quite capable of using up all the choices America will ever have between saving and spending what is left of its unmarred natural heritage.

As I pondered the above quote by David Brower, I could not help but agree with the truth that man is incapable of creating anything. He can only destroy the beauty that God has created. The Gospel of explains this fact: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; and without Him nothing was made that has been made." (John 1:1-3)

But as our world continues to wind down, we can take great hope that one day, God will renew all things. "But we are looking forward to God's promise of new heavens and a new earth afterwards, where there will be only goodness." (2 Peter 3:13)

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