What is good about Creation? (Part 2)

I'm constantly challenged at the moment by someone in our church who doesn't really buy the line that we can enjoy a trip to the cinema to the glory of God. He is more acutely aware than most that 'friendship with the world is enmity with God' and reminds me that we can often shape our understanding of what is sinful by what suits us.

I'm still thinking through how we rightly enjoy creation to the glory of God. One way that has been helpful to my thinking through the issues is to think about my brother.

My brother is an artist. Relationships people have with my brother and his work can fit into several categories:

1. They love my brother but don't care about his work.

These would tend to be my brother's non-arty friends. It is a good relationship, but it is not quite as good as it could be.

2. They love my brother's work but don't care about him.

These would be people who have never met my brother, but bought his art. The person who made the art is an irrelevance. They have a relationship with the art but not my brother.

3. They love my brother because of the work he produces.

These are fair-weather friends. They would think my brother is cool and interesting because of what he makes. They are constantly dropping hints that he could give them bits of his art. Not a good relationship.

4. They love my brother's work because it is made by him.

This would be my mother. Everything my brother produces is great, because it is made by him. She sees no value in the thing itself but only because it is made by her son. This intensely annoys my brother, because to him she may as well ignore the art because her reaction to it is irrelevant.

5. They love both my brother and his work relatively independently.

This is the best relationship you could have with my brother. It is hard to represent diagrammatically. This is what I think we should be seeking for in our relationship with Creation. We should love walking through the dales for what it is in itself - beautiful. However, it is difficult to imagine doing this without setting up an rival to God. The only way I can think we can avoid doing this is if we remember:

1. It is not a zero-sum game. Loving creation does not mean we have less love to give to God.
2. Creation is not independent of God. It is his creation and is sustained by his power.
3. Creation is God's gift to us. It is an act of his overflowing love.
4. Creation speaks of God.

Nevertheless, I think I need to work through more of what it looks like to love both God and Creation, but in a way which gives God all the glory.

Any thoughts?

PS Apologies for the diagrams. They were done in haste.