Creation

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OUR PLACE BEFORE GOD

Since the beginning man has been fascinated by the universe. We have studied the stars for patterns and worshipped the sun and moon. Astronomers find that the universe is increasingly more vast than they had imagined. The Bible tells us that God spoke it into existence.

I had this contrasting thought this morning, I thought of the magnificence of God. The one who spoke the universe into existence, and then there’s me. So what is my place when I go before God, mouse before a lion, krill in the mouth of a whale? The humblest place I can find is not adequate. Jesus came to help with this dilemma.

He first referred to God as our Father. Father is a perception we can easily relate to. God, being perfect, would represent the ideal father. One who will love us, protect us, teach us, and provide for us.

Jesus went even further when he addressed his disciples. In John Chapter 14 when Philip asked Jesus to show him the Father he replied, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.

Obviously, Jesus didn’t come as the whole manifest presence of God, but he represented the heart and character of God our Father. Jesus was all that an ideal father would be, and then he humbly gave his life for us.

My conclusion, I am on the receiving end of my relationship with God. My fate is entirely in his hands. I can never repay him for his love, kindness, and mercy. I can never match his humbleness. My place before God is one of gratitude. I will praise him and thank him the best I can for as long as I have breath.

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WHO IS THIS JESUS?

One of my favorite passages of scripture is Colossians 1: 15-17. In this passage Paul gives us an insight into who Jesus really is. He writes:

He is the image of the invisible God, the first born over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

The last statement, “in him all things hold together,” always intrigues me. When considering atoms, the invisible building blocks of the whole universe, the question has always been what holds an atom together? Perhaps the answer is Jesus. And, of course, I have had to ask myself, what would happen if he let go? Well, the reality is that Jesus holds all things together, whatever that actually means, and this points to the ultimate power of our savior. The one who humbled himself and came to earth in human form is the all-powerful Creator God.

Jesus is God in the fullest sense. He has been given complete authority over all things. He is the supreme ruler over all of creation. What he did for us shows his amazing character, and warrants him eternal praise and gratitude.

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THE FAITH VIEW

By Faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible (Hebrews 11-3).

When I came to faith and surrendered my life to God, my eyes were opened to a new view of the world. I realized that what we see is the result of his creative ability. He spoke this amazing world into existence so we could know him by what he has created. I often say to my students, as we drive toward the sunset, “Look, God is painting us his evening picture.” Every day I find beauty and wonder around me.

I was recently reflecting on the variety of life that God created. My back yard is alive with his creatures. Squirrels scamper around collecting the various seeds and berries from the trees. They are joined by an assortment of birds. I am particularly delighted by the flock of wrens hopping about enjoying the same food supply. A closer look reveals the snails enjoying the vegetation. And that is just in my back yard.

We find life in every part of this earth he made. There are creatures living in the most extreme environments. For instance, some creatures live at the bottom of the ocean near fissures where lava flows from cracks in the earth’s crust. Now that’s extreme, but it was no problem for God’s creative abilities.

As we see what God has made by his spoken Word out of what was not seen, our faith is increased, and we are drawn closer to him. He’s amazing! And he calls himself our Father. What an awesome father we have.

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LIGHT

God loves us!  As he was preparing a place for us he first created light.  Light is incredible.  It sustains physical life, refracts into all the wonderful colors we see, and provides a contrast to darkness.  God designed a great place for us that is full of light.

Light is necessary for life to exist on earth.  The process of photosynthesis is the foundation for all food consumed by living creatures.  The light we receive from the sun provides the necessary heat the earth requires.  In light we find God’s provision for his created ones.

As light contacts various objects it refracts.  These refractions disperse the light into an amazing array of colors making the earth a beautiful place.  The colors we see calm us, delight us, and stimulate us.  Through light our creator has inspired us and made our lives full and interesting.

Light and its contrast darkness are used figuratively throughout the scriptures to help us understand God’s care for us.  We read in Psalm 18: 28 “God turns my darkness into light,” and Psalm 56:13 says that God provides the light of life.   Light provides a metaphor for virtue.  Light is righteousness and darkness is sinfulness.  Romans 13:12, “The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.  So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” 

Light has great importance in God’s creation.  Isaiah used light to predict the coming of Jesus, “the people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned (Isaiah 9:2).”  For us today that light has long since dawned.  We can now walk in the light.  I pray that His light will shine in your heart today, and that darkness will have no place in your heart.  Praise be to God for the wonders of light.

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ADORATION

I have an ever present desire to understand and more deeply worship the God who loves me. During Sunday worship last week this word came to mind, adoration.  I wanted to be sure of what this word actually means so I looked in the dictionary.  I found these words to be most enlightening, “to regard with reverent admiration and devotion.”

I find reverent admiration when I take time to see the wonder of what God has created.  A morning walk or an evening stroll always helps me to settle my mind and peruse his wonders.  King David wrote in Psalm 8:3-5,

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?  You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor

I kindle my devotion when I remember all that God has done for me since I surrendered my life to him.  Psalm 103 reminds me that he has forgiven all my sins, and pulled me out of the pit that my life had become.  He loves me, and he has satisfied my desires with good things.

Adoration is already a part of my worship when I remember to stop and take the time to think of whom he is and what he has done in my life.

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PSALM 121

I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from? 

My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:1-2)

 

My help comes from an all-powerful God who loves me as his child.  I find great comfort in these words.  When I am lost in my incessant self-reliance, I am fearful; but when I look beyond myself, I recall that my help comes from the Lord maker of heaven and earth.  I am so prone to forget this.

 

The circumstances don’t change. It’s my perspective that changes.  I look for the Lord, and he comforts me.  He surrounds me with his presence, and I find peace.

 

Whatever they may be, I pray that you find God’s presence in your circumstances.

 

Love and blessing,

Al

 

(Thanks to Joyce Caperton for directing me to this Psalm)

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OUR CREATOR AND US

Psalm 8:3-5

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?  You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

I love this passage of scripture.  It speaks volumes to me.  The vastness of the heavens directs my thinking to just how limitless is our God who created them.  Who is mankind in the midst of the universe?  Well, it turns out that we’re quite important to our creator.  Mankind is the focus of creation to the point that he sent his only begotten Son to die for us.   I pause to think about this, and I am overwhelmed by this thought.

The great creator -of all that we know- is loving, personal, and sacrificial in relationship with his created ones.  I desire to take this into the depths of my soul.  Sometimes, I ignore God and take for granted his presence in my life.  These thoughts are important motivators to stir me from my complacent self- centeredness and remind me just who I am serving.  He is the creator of the universe in whom we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28).

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THE BEAUTY OF GOD

I’m sitting here in my kitchen, looking out to my backyard, and enjoying the beauty of the fall foliage.  I realize that I love God because of the beauty in his creation.  I’m always pointing out to my driving students (to help them relax) the delightful colors of the sunset.  I tell them that God paints us a new picture every evening.

Seeing the fall colors always reminds me of the September Bonnie and I spent in New England.  We were slightly in advance of the leaf peekers.  This is the maybe not so affectionate name the New Englanders call people coming to see the fall colors.  I was thinking of the leaf peekers and wondering how many of them understand that what they are driving to see is the beauty of God.

Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

When we allow our attention to be drawn to nature, and feel that contentment it brings to our souls, we are experiencing God himself.  Our western minds always want to deal with facts, but we should not ignore the aesthetics of life.  We could be in the very midst of God and fail to recognize his beauty.

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GOOD AND EVIL

I love to revisit the story of creation in Genesis chapters 1 and 2.  Envisioning God’s fresh creation delights my heart.  Genesis 1:31 reads, God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.  The creator stepped back, looked over what he had made, and concluded, “It was very good.”

Today as I continue to be awed by what God created, I see elements that were not there at the beginning.  Death and decay are at work in the creation.  What God created that was “very good” has now deteriorated.  Good now has a counterpart, evil.  How did evil get into God’s creation?

When the first man and woman walked the earth only good existed.  They had no special awareness of good because it was the default of their world.  There was no contrast to good.  In the garden, where God put them, was a tree with the knowledge of good and its contrast evil.  God warned them not to indulge in this knowledge for it brought with it death.  They chose not to heed God’s warning.

Why is our world filled with death and decay?  The answer is obvious.  We had to know about good and evil.  Well, now we know.  I think we could have gone without knowing.  So in hindsight, when God says not to do something, we probably shouldn’t.

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FAITH AND DOUBT

Are you convinced that Christianity is true?  Do you ever doubt your belief?  Does God really exist?  Is my belief in vain?  Do these questions of doubt haunt you at times?  They do me.  During these times of doubt I have two processes that I follow, reason and experience.  Reason alone cannot restore faith, but it can help.    Walking back through my life and remembering my experiences with God seals the breach in my faith, and I am restored.

These nagging questions that challenge my faith cause me to return to the process of reasoning. I start with the basic question of where did I and all I know come from.  There are only two possible answers.  It all came about by some accidental occurrence of events over millions and billions of years, or an intelligent force designed it.  The complexity of the universe and the existence of life itself lead me to believe that an intelligent force designed it.  And if this is so, what do I know about this intelligent force.  I have concluded that the Bible is the most reliable source of information about this intelligent force.  This process, to remind myself of the logic of my belief, gets me started.  But the most interesting truth about this reasoning process is that it all came about after I believed.  My belief in God is therefore founded in something other than reason.

I next reminisce on my experiences with God.  God has spoken to me at key moments in my life, and he drew me to himself.  He answered prayers and provided miracles all to build a relationship of trust.   My faith is rooted in a relationship with God that he has built over many years.  Then I remember, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”  Ah, my faith is based not on my ability to reason, but on my relationship with God.  Experience trumps reason.  The questioning of my faith is entrenched in my reasoning skills.  My reasoning is faulty, but my experience is sound.  There is no argument against what I have experienced.

I feel that faith is even more deeply based on a spiritual foundation.  When I first believed reason played a small part, experience barely existed, yet I was drawn to God.  Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him …” (John 6:44).   My reason and my experience came because God drew me.  I simply said yes to him.  I believe because I was predestined to believe.  God is sovereign over all his creation, even me.

Repost from July 2015