"Outside"

My mama birthed me inside,

But soon as I could be,

I decided that the outside,

Was by far the place for me.

Outside meant all the ranch smells,

And scenes of horse and cattle,

Sweat and blood and lots of work,

With hours in the saddle.

And, yes, I’d go on inside,

When it was time to eat,

But even after supper,

Outside till time for sleep.

The hardest part of schoolin’,

Was the time I had to spend,

Inside the class for hours,

I thought might never end.

And though I am a Christian,

Inside on Sunday morn,

The best part was the last amen,

Ran out that door air-borne.

The wind and sun and even rain,

Outside you feel it all,

Escape that closed in feelin’,

And breathe the freedom, y’all.

Go open all the windows,

And open closed doors, too,

If you must stay inside,

Let outside come to you.

But, better, catch your pony,

Get that wood cinched up tight,

And ride a big, wide circle,

And don’t get home till night.

You’ll see God’s great creation,

You might just hear Him, too,

‘Cause out there where the wind blows,

He’ll likely speak to you.

And Christ walked with disciples,

By the sea and mountain, too,

And did His biggest miracles,

Outside, we know it’s true.

And here is what I’m thinkin’,

See if this sounds right,

When we all get to heaven,

And it’s filled with God’s own light.

Don’t think they’ll be an inside,

It’s all outside, you see,

And we will live forever,

Outside eternally.

Created for the outside,

I know and I believe,

It’s what the Good Lord planned for us,

I hope these words relieve.

“When I look at the night sky and see the work of Your fingers- the moor and the stars You set in place- what are mere mortals that You should think about them, human beings that You should care for them?” (Psalm 8:3-4, NLT)

The Psalmist looks to the heavens and wonders how the One who created such magnificence still cares for human beings. Yet, He does! In fact His word tells us that we are the most important part of His creation. The created order testifies to us that God, the Great Creator, is present and ready to have a relationship with us through Jesus Christ, His Son. Some worship creation, and have exchanged the truth for a lie, the scriptures tell us. But when we are receptive, we will always see the revelation of God in what He has made.

Lord, open our eyes and help us to see You in all that You have created, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Mark Maggiori, markmaggiori.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Mark, and God bless you.