We live in a culture that is constantly attempting to explain away the world around us. In general, this is a great thing. It has led to many wonderful discoveries. The fact that I am able to type this devotional out on a computer in one place, and you are able to seamlessly read it in a completely different place without either one of us having to meet is nothing short of amazing. The problem comes when this process is wholly separate from God. Science started out as a desire to understand the world that God had made, but because of the sinful nature of humanity, the process has shifted. Now, science is often seen as a means of explaining things without God at all. Evolution, after all, has the underlying idea God either does not exist or cannot interact with the world. It is an attempt to explain how everything came into being. There are lots of issues that come with the theory, but chief among them is that evolution requires that something came from nothing. As Christians, we know that this is not true. We know that God is the creator. The question we have to look at today relates to that creation.
Question # 15
The question is not if God is the creator, that is a given. The question is;
What is the work of creation?
The question has special relevance to us today because of internet culture and the common use of the term creator. People who make YouTube videos or are attempting to build a social media presence refer to themselves as content creators. The term creator or creation is used to describe someone who takes disparate elements and combines them. Our catechism question compels us to look at the true meaning of the term. The answer that the catechism gives is a simple one. It states;
The work of creation is that wherein God did in the beginning, by the word of his power, make of nothing the world, and all things therein, for himself, within the space of six days, and all very good.
The catechism makes it clear that creation is something much more than simply combining elements. In the work of creation, God spoke the world into existence out of nothing. The idea is an amazing one. It is wonderful. God, out of his own goodness and power, spoke, and all of creation came into existence. Tolkien and Lewis give us a wonderful example of this in their respective stories. In Narnia, Aslan sings the world into existence, and Eru Iluvatar does the same in the Lord of the Rings universe. I love the idea of God singing the world into existence. It fits with the idea that we read in Hebrews. Hebrews 1:3 tells us that the word of his power upholds the whole of the universe. It gives us the idea that not only is creation accomplished by God speaking, but that if God were to stop speaking, all of creation would cease to exist. We are his song.
Always Speaking
One of my favorite books is Notes From the Tilt-A-Whirl by N.D. Wilson. The book is a bit of a ramble and certainly should not be read in stages, but the ideas and thoughts are amazing. One of the things that we often struggle with is a desire for God to speak to us. Wilson points out that all of creation is God speaking to us. From the beauty of the flowers to the way the trees sway in the wind, God is speaking to us and displaying his majesty. Paul, in the opening chapter of Romans, tells us that we are left without excuse because the power and goodness of God are made evident throughout creation. In effect, God is constantly singing his majesty to us. Because of our sinful nature, specifically our self-centeredness, we miss all this. We want God to speak to us, but we want it to be in English and a direct answer to our questions. I wonder how much better we would be if we simply took the time to listen and marvel at the wonder of our creator. We are his song. We are his creation.
The Why
The answer to the catechism question goes beyond simply stating how God created the world. It tells us why. God sang the world into existence for his own glory. We exist purely because God desired to create us. To reference a different catechism, the Westminster Shorter Catechism's first question asks about our primary purpose. The answer we are given is that our primary purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. All of creation exists to glorify God. Our purpose is the same as the rest of creation: to glorify God. How much greater would our enjoyment of God and his creation be if we understood that God proclaims his majesty every moment of every day? This morning, there was frost on the ground. Think about that for a moment. Each of the frost crystals is beautiful in the way it cateches and reflects the light. If a person were to make something so amazing, it would be held as a work of art, and yet, when we look at the frost on the ground, we take it for granted. Our selfishness truly knows no bounds.
For His Glory
There is more to the answer than what we have talked about so far. God created the world in six days, and all very good. The simple implication is that God did, in fact, by the word of his power, create the world in six literal days. He did not need to do so. If it was his desire, he could have spoken the whole of creation in the being in a moment. He chose to do so in six days, resting on the seventh for us. It is an example for our work week. It taught us how we are to order our lives. Like with all the things we think we have been talking about, God has done all these things for his glory and our good. As we reflect on these things, my hope is that it will cause you to have a greater appreciation for the character and attributes of God. Next time you see the sun shine through the trees or you see the frost in the morning, I hope it causes you to reflect on our wonderful creator and his love for us. We should be reflecting on God's masterpiece of creation
Soli Deo Gloria
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