Sunday, March 29, 2026.
I grew up in a church that sang hymns. Over the last few days, God has been bringing one particular hymn to my mind — “For the Beauty of the Earth,” written by Folliott S. Pierpoint. Recently, I took a few moments to read over the lyrics, and the first verse stopped me in my tracks:
“For the beauty of the earth, For the glory of the skies, For the love which from our birth Over and around us lies; Lord of all, to thee we raise This our hymn of grateful praise.”
As I walk the beach and pray, I am surrounded by beauty. When I look across the ocean and see the vibrant blues and greens that I can never quite capture in a photograph — or up into the vast skies that display the sun during the day and the moon and stars at night — or at the colorful flowers that abound everywhere, I am reminded of God’s beauty. And I am reminded of these lyrics.
“For the beauty of the earth and for the glory of the skies” could have been written from the very views I now experience.
Pierpoint, doesn’t stop there. The next lines shift the gaze from the beauty of creation to something even more breathtaking — the love that God has had for each of us since before we were born. Psalm 139:16 reminds us that God saw us — really saw us — before we ever took our first breath. That means you matter to Him, not because of anything you have done, but because He chose to love you first.
This love that is “over and around us” is sometimes hard to comprehend and even more difficult to describe with words — but God’s love is so real. The Passion Translation captures it beautifully in Ephesians 3:18–19:
“And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”
Paul describes the very nature of this love in 1 Corinthians 13:4–8a:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
This is the love God has for you. Not a distant, conditional love — but a love that protects, perseveres, and never, ever fails.
As I continue to ponder the words of this hymn, I am in awe of the beauty that I am choosing to experience in the wonders around me. Psalm 50:2 declares, “From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.” God not only created the beauty — He is in the beauty, if we choose to see it.
And there is a promise that comes with that choice. Psalm 50:23 tells us, “Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me, and to the blameless I will show my salvation.” God doesn’t just desire that we admire His beauty — He is honored when we respond with a thankful heart. Our gratitude becomes a gift back to Him.
You matter to God — not just in the big moments, but in the everyday moments of walking a beach, watching a sunrise, or pausing to notice a flower. He wove beauty into this world for you, as a continual declaration of His love.
May we choose to see His beauty all around us — wherever we are. And may we choose to cultivate a thankful heart, so that He receives all the honor, glory, and praise He is due.
You Matter Ministries 