The beauty of Mount St. Helens and Spirit Lake as seen in our cover picture has been marred. The great change to a scene of desolation the mountain and lake now display did not come from an outside catastrophe. The destruction came from eruptions from within.

A fundamental truth of God's Word as to man's ruin and defilement is illustrated for us in those spectacular volcanic explosions. The eruptions shook the northwest and sent rock, mud and ash into the air, covering everything for miles around.

The natural thought of man is that man is essentially good at heart, but outside influences of his environment spoil him. The Pharisees in Jesus' day believed this and were very critical about the disciples who didn't wash their hands before eating. This observance was not because of sanitary precautions but rather a ritual that they believed kept them from spiritual defilement. In Mark 7:14-23 Jesus said to them: "Hearken unto Me every one of you, and understand: there is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man have ears to hear let him hear. And when He was entered into the house from the people, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable. And He saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him: Because it entereth not into his heart,, but into his belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? And He said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man."

The pool of hot lava and gas in the bowels of the earth is what became active and pushed its way to the top of Mount St. Helens. The rock and hot mud exploded miles into the atmosphere and ruined thousands of acres of the beautiful land and lake surrounding the area. Ash blown into the air was carried by the wind to literally cover country and cities to the depth of several inches, ruining farm land and causing destruction up to the billions of dollars.

Just so does the heart of man, which Jeremiah 17:9 tells us is "deceitful above all things and desperately wicked," explode with sin of every kind to ruin not only oneself but everything and everyone around. Where God's grace has not entered the heart of man, as Hebrews 12:15 tells us, even the "root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled." James also speaks of the tongue, a little member, but an indicator of the heart inside which is like "a fire, a world of iniquity . . . it defileth the whole body and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell" (James 3:5,6). "The tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison" (James 3:8). And who can tame Mount St. Helens? Only God the Creator. And only Christ the Saviour can give a new heart making a man a new creation in Him by new birth. It is then that blessing and not cursing come from the mouth. It is then only that what is pure, peaceable, gentle, full of mercy and good fruits without partiality and without hypocrisy" flow from the heart of man to others in what will not destroy and defile himself and those around him.

The beauty of new creation is described in Galatians 5:22,23 as the fruit of the Spirit, which is "Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self control." Oh, this is the beauty of grace emanating from the new heart and nature of God. The beauty of the purity of the snow-covered mountain, the luscious green of the trees of the forest, the dazzling reflections of the pure water of the lake picture how God made all things beautiful to begin with. But when God saves and restores, it is not simply a restoration to what has been before. The salvation of God puts man in heavenly places "in Christ," and we who are saved are told, "As He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17). Even "now are we the sons of God, but it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like him: for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2).

Mount St. Helens may be desolate for years, but the sinner saved by grace is taken from the ruins of sin and by God made anew in Christ, to be in a coming day wholly "conformed to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29). This will far transcend all earthly beauty and splendour of God's marvelous creation.