Outline:
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Then, when everything else was ready, God created humankind.
Imagine, if God had done it any other way.
Picture the earth as it began, formless, shapeless. Then picture how God created it. As you picture it, we need to remember, we were not an afterthought. We were the purpose of the creation. God was not just playing in the mud. God was moving creation along for a reason. Us.
When God began, Genesis tells us that the earth was formless, a void in the darkness. Certainly not fit for human habitation. God had some “fixin’” to do! And the very first thing God created was light! Now God could see what was happening. And God separated the light from the dark.
With a few words, God created this round ball we call earth, forming it to be separate from the space that surrounds it. And God drew the boundaries of the continents as they rose out of the sea, separating water and land.
And on the barren earth, God called forth vegetation. It would be beautiful on its own, but it had a deeper purpose. Without vegetation, there could be no animal life.
And God blew apart the mists, and the sun and moon and stars shone down, creating day and night, the seasons were called into being as the earth circled the sun.
And then we see, the waters are filled with life, slowly filling the earth, the birds begin their journey to the air. And finally, there on the land, the animals came into being.
And then, when all was ready, God breathed life into us, and we became what God had been going for in the very first moments of creation. A partner with God!
Differences in perspective:
In today’s world, there are two very different opinions of how all of this happened.
• The first opinion is that creation is a totally random act. All of the things I just mentioned, happening over millions of years, just happened to happen that way. This randomness is considered a statistical probability based on the number of galaxies in the universe, and billions of stars. If anything, it had to happen. Those holding this position focus only on the how. Those holding this view state that there is no reason for anything beyond randomness.
• The second opinion holds that Creation comes from Intelligent design (AKA God created). Going beyond was is, and how it happened, it asks the question, why? Why is there a universe? What came before the universe. It looks at who we are and how we got here, and it sees logic and order instead of randomness. It feels something deeper. It does not need to dispute the how, but it wants to know WHY?
Why Does it matter?
If we are a random act – there is no purpose or plan to our existence. We are merely a random act in a random universe. There is nothing beyond what we can see and touch. It takes away our humanity.
Consequences as seen today:
• No reason for existence – people who do not feel like they have a purpose, do not know how to find meaning in their lives.
• Without a creator, we lose something important. The big word for it is ontological truth. When it comes to morality, it means that truth will always be truth. Right will always be right. Wrong will always be wrong. What we replace it with is called relative truth. Relative truth says that what is right for me is my right. It puts ME in the center of the universe.
• Sadly, another issue that comes to life without a creator is a lack of value of human life. We see it today when we see issues of abortion, assisted suicide, euthanasia being discussed. So often they avoid the issue of value of human life. But we see it even more in acts of mass killing. Whatever you believe on gun control, it will never stop someone who is intent on killing. We have seen people drive their cars into crowds, use acts of bioterror, perform acts of arson. We see it in wars with drones and bombs. Human life is not valued.
• Instead, life becomes only about us. Without a creator, we have no reason to be kind to our neighbor except as it benefits us. We do not need to follow the law except as it benefits us. We replace the creator with ourselves.
• Finally, we do not have to value creation. There are many people out there today who talk about issues we have with how we are treating the earth. But have you listened to why? We need to care for the earth because if we don’t it will create harm to us.
If we are designed by a creator, we see things totally differently!
• First of all, there is a purpose behind our design. We grow up knowing that God created us. God created us in God’s own image. We are loved by God. And God wants us to look, act, walk, in God’s own footsteps.
• So we look to God for our morality. There are some who will create absolutes based on one verse or another in Scripture. But if we go back to basics, we find that the absolute of God is love. All acts done in love are good acts. All acts done without thoughts of how it impacts others are selfish acts. Jesus made it simple. Love and respect God. Love and respect yourself. Love and respect your neighbor. We cannot do wrong using this as a truth to hold onto. As Jesus pointed out, all of the commandments are based on these simple facts.
• All life is created by God and treasured. This week, my granddaughter went to Camp Barnabas. It is a camp that is designed specifically for those with special needs. And, at the very beginning of camp, all of the helpers gather and create a line to welcome and cheer each and every camper. Their name is called, and as they walk in, through a long line, they are cheered. From the very first moment, they are told they are treasured by God!
When we value people, in the context of our value to God, we ask our questions differently. How do we value women who have been violated, but at the same time value life as a creation? How do we value the end of life of people who are suffering, and what ways can we help them value their own life? We do not see things as rules, we see people. And in seeing people, we care.
And when we care about others, they are no longer targets of our anger, they (and we) are valued. When people value themselves and others, the hatred that drives mass killings is not there.
• A part of our purpose is “Love our neighbor as ourselves.” We are a part of a bigger community. When you understand yourself as a part of the community, you feel compassion, caring, and life is not only about you.
• God said creation was good. God created the world and gave us dominion over it. It is our responsibility to care for it, just as we care for our own homes and our own farms. I have heard many discussions concerning methods of farming and sustainability. I have heard some of you talk about the importance of caring for the animals. Out where we dispose of our own trash, we are always aware of what can be recycled.
If God Gave us the whole earth, then we need to care for it just like we do our family farms, realizing it isn’t just for us, it is for our kids, and our grandkids, and our great grandkids. We are stewards of the earth.
So, it really comes down to the question: Why did God create us?
• Scripture is clear: God created us in God’s own image. And I want to introduce a new concept to you called Perichoresis. Peri means Circle. Resis means dance. The early church leaders described the trinity with this term. The Trinity was an eternal dance of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, sharing mutual love, honor, respect, happiness and joy.
• We were created to join this dance. We were created to be a part of this relationship. We use many terms in Scripture, perhaps the most powerful in this concept is the one where we are called to be the Bride of Christ. We are married into the Trinity as full partners.
• (Concluded with Footsteps on the Beach, the "Dancing with God" version, but could end without).
Special Note - Lord of the Dance makes an exceptionally good accompaniment to this sermon.
