Does God Take Inventory?

I was sitting and praying in our church’s columbarium garden a few weeks ago when I saw the tag on the tree pictured above. It’s an inventory tag. Evidently, the insurance company considers this large mesquite tree to be one of the assets of the church.

Being who I am, my mind started playing with that idea. The church has an inventory list, and this tree is on it. What else at the church is considered worth inventorying? I would guess the pew bibles are a lot more valuable, spiritually, but I don’t remember them being tagged or numerically labeled. I also wonder now if each pew in the sanctuary and chair in the side chapels is numbered or tagged in some fashion. (No, I haven’t crawled under the pews to check!)

Churches and other businesses aren’t the only ones taking inventory. I found myself thinking of the computer program Henry uses to keep track of his genealogy files. That’s another type of inventory list, filled with names, dates, places, relationships, and other important data. This information is important for Henry, our family, and those who would like to make connections with us.

And what is God’s perspective on all this? Are the trees and the pews and the genealogy names assets in God’s eyes? Does God take some type of inventory? How does God keep track of the important elements of creation—and what or who is considered important? Frankly, that stately, many-limbed tree is probably much older than I am and provides both shade and ambience. Does that make it a more valuable asset in God’s eyes?

Of course, God’s perspective on all this is likely very different from that of the insurance company. The professionals who wrote up the church’s policy and required this tag were focused on replacement value. If a fire swept through the church grounds, how much would it cost to replace this tree, and what would be considered its equivalent?

For God, replacement value is immaterial, as every element of creation is unique and therefore irreplaceable. We could plant another tree, and it would eventually grow to provide shade for people in the refurbished garden, but it wouldn’t be the same. Neither would it be possible to replace a person in Henry’s genealogy files with some random younger stranger.

What comes to mind as you ponder my thoughts here? What do you think God considers valuable? If God had an inventory list, what would be on it and why?