Genesis 1 tells us who created, but not why. God does not need this world and nothing caused or forced him to create it. The “why” is forever lost in the mystery of his being.
Neither does Genesis 1 tell us how he created, though many wish it did. The truth is that wise, godly people have come to wildly differing conclusions about how God created precisely because Genesis does not speak definitively about the process. It does record one inescapable fact: all we see is in some way a product of his creative power. The four dimensions of time and space and all that is in them came into being through the power and will of God.
The most important issue at stake in the doctrine of creation is not the origin of all things, but their destiny. The critical issue is not the mechanics of creation, but the goal and meaning of our existence. If God is not Creator, then we are a fluke, an accident, a meaningless dance of atoms. But if God created, then we are made – a product of design – made for some purpose.
I believe at the heart of that purpose is worship. If there is a right response to creation, it is to worship the Creator. The sea resounds. The mountains exult. The rivers clap their hands. All creation worships its Maker. And so should we. It’s what we were made for.
Paul Abbott
Well let's get this 180 party started....
ReplyDeleteWe all love a good mystery book or film. The characters and places are set. The story is put in motion and we spend the next hours figuring out where all of it is going. In the end, we have the "aha" and we spend some time deciding how much we liked or didn't like how the story unfolded. Unless, of course, you were a fan of LOST – I'm still trying to figure that out…..
When it comes to the mystery of God, of His being and of His creation, when I get to the why's and the how's, I never get to the "aha". Sure, there are moments of clarity, but then that familiar "duh" feeling returns. (If you know me, it's a feeling I am familiar with quite often…) Those are the times when I put it on "my list". My list is the list of questions to ask Him when I see Him. You could call it a lazy man's way of not wrestling with doctrinal issues. I am not saying that it is ok to be biblically illiterate. It's not. But at some point, I get to a place where I just have to say "hmmmmmm…." And I marvel.
Personally, I think that God created because He loves. It's His nature. And how do you love nothing? He wanted to love something, so He created something to love.
As to how? Seriously?
But really, in the end, I don't have a clue as to how or why God created. Beats me. It's on my list.
-Mark Young
Personally I think the creation process is beyond human comprehension or even imagination. The author, inventor, creator of the universe by definition has no equal. I think the theories put forward by believers and scoffers alike are all too lame. i believe when I hear the story from Him I will both laugh and cry at the same time because it will be so much to take in. I will probably agree that just giving us the outline was the right thing to do at the time. Even though I really wish I had more details. How do you summarize such an accomplishment? How do you reduce it to a few pages?
ReplyDeleteI love how God birthed in all of us a desire to create. Some of us do it through music, writing or dreams of new ideas. But I believe all us have deep in us a God-given ability and desire to create. When we connect that desire with Worship of the Father, it is a powerful experience for the soul.
ReplyDeleteI love the creation story! It is a story of God's amazing love for us. Reading it with fresh eyes raised a question for me...the sun and moon were not created until the fourth day. So what was the source of light on day one?
ReplyDeleteJanet Schnabel
Janet - check out Revelations 21:23 for an intriguing possible answer.
ReplyDeleteMark said, "Personally, I think that God created because He loves. It's His nature. And how do you love nothing? He wanted to love something, so He created something to love." Right on! I totally agree with this. I am an animal lover and I have a lot of animals because I love to make their life happy and safe; to provide the best for them. I love to love them! Also, one of my favorite verses in the bible is Ephesians 2:10 which part of it says we are created to do good works. Cheryl
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