I had the opportunity this weekend to spend some time at Ape Cave in Washington with the Boy Scouts. We spent the weekend camping on the Lewis River and much of Saturday exploring lava tubes higher up on the mountain. It was a great respite from technology (no electricity or cell phones), and it provided me with some inspirational insights about life.
At the mouth of Ape Cave, you’re presented with one of the most intersting juxtapositions that exist in nature. On the one hand you have the tranquility of nature – the soft greens of the forest and the calming drips and murmors of running water down the cracks in the rock. On the other hand, you have evidence of the violence that exists in the core of the earth – you’re standing near an opening into an ancient lava tube at the feet of an active volcano!
Everything is in balance, and it presents a wonderful view of the many faces of both our world and it’s incredible Creator. Looking at the mouth of the cave I’m reminded of the fact that all of the beautiful, tranquil vistas we reflect on in the world are only possible because of the past violence of creation. Creating anything is a painful process – in most cases, something else must be destroyed.
To create music, you must cut through and negate the silence. To paint a portrait you must mar and deface a clear canvas. To write a book, you have to mark up a pristine, blank document. To create anything, you must first destroy the medium in which you’ve created … and for God to create a mountain with a tranquil forest littered by amazing caves and tubes, He had to destroy the forest and landscape that came before.