The story goes that one day a group of scientists had a meeting and decided that humans had come so far that they no longer needed God. After reaching their decision they appointed one of their number to go and explain to God that his services were no longer required. He said, “God, we’ve concluded that we no longer need you, because we are to the point that we can conceive life in a test tube and even clone people. We are so technologically advanced that we can do many things that at one time would have been thought of as miraculous. So we are now inviting you to leave the world in our hands.” God listened very patiently and quietly until the man was finished. With great kindness in his voice, he said, “Very well then, but first, why don’t we have a man-making contest.” This sounded like a marvelous idea to the deluded scientist, and he agreed to the challenge. But God said, “Now, you understand that we are going to have to do this just like I did back in the garden with Adam.” The self-assured man said, “That will be no problem,” and he bent down and grabbed a handful of dirt, realizing that he held in his hand all the building blocks of life. But God looked at him and said, “You don’t understand. You have to get your own dirt.”
That little story explains the fallacy of modern thinking. The scientists of today go to great lengths to tell us that life started in a primordial pond somewhere on earth, but they fail to say where the primordial pond came from. They write volumes of how the universe started with an enormous mass of matter and energy. All of the planets and stars, they explain, came from an explosion of this material, which scattered the mass throughout the cosmos. What they do not explain is where this original mass and energy came from — and Who caused the explosion.
I am presently taking a course on the early church fathers at Ashland Seminary, and one of the things I discovered about the earliest Christian thinkers is how much emphasis they put on the importance of creation. In their minds, if you get it wrong here you get it all wrong. Irenaeus wrote: “We hold, however, the rule of truth, according to which there is one almighty God, who formed all things through His Word, and fashioned and made all things which exist out of that which did not exist.” The Christian faith holds that God created all that exists ex nihilo, that is, “out of nothing.” He did not start with something, he started with nothing — nothing except himself. He spoke the universes into existence, for the Bible says, “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm” (Psalm 33:6-9).
The doctrine of creation is so important because it is the foundation to understanding who God is, who we are and how the world got here. It is therefore the key to understanding the meaning of life. If you accept the fact of creation then you understand that life has a purpose and that we were created by a loving God who has a plan for our lives. We were made in God’s image, and because of that he has great interest in us and places great value on human life. Our lives give God pleasure. He cares about us and is on our side. Therefore, life has an eternal dimension.
If you do not accept the fact of creation then you have to say we are here through some cosmic accident. Life has no purpose or meaning. We are here as the result of the accidental meeting of molecules which evolved, and we are the result of countless years of evolutionary process. We merely developed from lower forms of life. There was no cause or purpose to it, it just happened. If this is true then, even though we may possess higher intelligence than other forms of life, we are still mere animals. We have no more rights or privileges than a kangaroo. Life is simply biology and we are merely protoplasm. There is no God and there is no plan. There is therefore no one to whom we are accountable and no universal, transcendent moral code. We are alone in the cosmos. If we need to worship something let us worship Gaia [Mother Earth], or the physical universe from which we came. This was the suggestion of Carl Sagan. Some are even worshiping themselves as God — getting in touch with their divinity. Morality becomes whatever the society at large decides it will be, and what you do in private is no one else’s business.
Perhaps you can begin to see how we have arrived where we are in our culture. In our desire to rid ourselves of God, and create a thoroughly secular culture, we have developed the idea of consensual morality — right and wrong are determined by what the majority feels is right and wrong. But the end result is that no one is really wrong. Everyone is right, therefore no one is really right. It is nihilism, the philosophy of meaninglessness and despair. We all become existentialists, trying to develop our own meanings to existence. To reject the truth of God seems very depressing to people of faith, but there are many who think there are real advantages to being a-theistic. If everything happened by chance, and there is no God, then we do not have to answer to him. We do not have to obey him and we can do as we please. We can live by whatever pleases us instead of what pleases him. We can make up our own rules and determine the direction of our own lives. It appeals to our rebellious nature that wants to throw off all restraints and reject all authority. But looking at the world and believing in evolution — that there is no God and everything which exists came about by chance and accident — is akin to going downstairs on Christmas morning and believing that everything you see was put there by a jolly old fat man in a red suit who shimmied down your chimney, instead of understanding the reality that you have a loving father who was the cause of it all. Believing in evolution takes much more faith than believing in creation.
This morning I want to talk about what the biblical message of creation tells us. The first point which I want to make clear is: Creation tells us that we are valuable to God. God has created us with infinite care. He made the world especially for us. The earth is placed at exactly the right place in the universe for our existence. One slight variation in the earth’s orbit, its distance from the sun, its temperature, its balance of gases would wipe out all life on this planet. But God keeps it all in intricate harmony for our well-being. Likewise, our bodies are extremely complex and maintain a delicate balance. He created us with infinite care. The Psalmist said, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). He chose our eye color, our size, our facial features, and even made our fingerprints unique. Jesus told us that he even knows the number of hairs on our heads (Matthew 10:30). The Bible says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). We are the objects of his fascination, desire and love. There is not a second that goes by that he is not thinking about us each individually. Your next breath is a gift from him. The next beat of your heart will be made possible by him.
Creation brings dignity to each individual human life. There is no dignity in beginning in a slime pond. There is no purpose to life it is was an accident. But if we accept the biblical truth that we are each a special creation of God, then we understand that we have been endowed with honor by our Creator. We were made in his likeness. We are here by divine command and appointment. We have been loved into existence by God who sees us as infinitely valuable.
That being true, we must also understand that: Creation tells us that we are accountable to God. If God created the cosmos it means that there is Someone out there who is greater than the cosmos. If God created us he is greater than us. If God has created us and all that exists, then we have a responsibility to not only acknowledge his existence, but to follow the laws by which he created life and the world. The Bible says, “Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live” (1 Corinthians 8:6). This means that God is the ultimate authority and, in spite of our inclination to rebel against authority, we are responsible to follow his ways and obey his laws. The fact of creation means that we are responsible for acknowledging our debt and our allegiance to our Creator. The Psalmist wrote: “Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3). The first law of life is to realize that we are not God. We have a Creator and we are his creatures. We are God-made, not self-made. This important fact carries with it certain conclusions. The Bible says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). If God is our Creator then it follows that he knows more about life than we do and that it is in our best interest to follow his precepts. In fact, it is our obligation to do so. Paul wrote to the early Christians saying, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship” (Romans 12:1).
There are many people who live as though we created God — that he is merely the product of our imaginations — therefore we can live as though he does not exist and ignore him. But even a casual observation of the world around us validates the fact that the universe is based on intelligent design. The Bible says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge” (Psalm 19:1-2). The only reason scientists are able to discover what they do is that the world of nature has order. It has predictable patterns which are the result of intelligent design. It only stands to reason then that, if the universe is based on intelligent design, there must be an intelligent Designer behind it all. The world as it is could not be the result of accident and chaos, it is the result of purposeful creation. A creation bespeaks of a Creator. That being true, it means that we have responsibilities to someone besides ourselves.
These responsibilities include seeing life through God’s eyes, seeing ourselves and others through God’s eyes, seeing the world around us through God’s eyes and living accordingly. The Bible tells us the disastrous results of not acknowledging God: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 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. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:18-22). To close the door to the obviousness of God’s existence and his work in creation is to open the door to foolishness and every kind of superstition. God not only exists, but you are accountable to him for everything you do.
The third point that is necessary for us to understand is: Creation tells us that there is a purpose to our existence. The Bible says, “”The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being’” (Acts 17:24-28). The purpose of the creation of the world is found in the fact that it was created for God’s pleasure. Our purpose is found when we find our pleasure in God. We were created for God’s glory and our lives should be lived accordingly. As the Westminster Confession puts it: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” Enjoying God and bringing glory to him in your life is your purpose here on earth. If you are not doing that, then you have missed your purpose in this world. Your purpose is not to enjoy life, but to enjoy God. Jesus said, “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). That is why he said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21). There is a purpose to this world and there is a purpose to your life. Miss it and you miss everything. And this purpose goes beyond the world to the One who created it.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning put it beautifully when she wrote:
Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush aflame with God.
But only those who see take off their shoes:
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.
In The Sacred Journey, Frederick Buechner tells this story from his life: “[One] winter I sat in Army fatigues somewhere near Anniston, Alabama, eating my supper out of a mess kit. The infantry training battalion that I had been assigned to was on bivouac. There was a cold drizzle, and everything was mud. The sun had gone down. I was still hungry when I finished and noticed that a man nearby had something left over that he was not going to eat. It was a turnip, and when I asked him if I could have it, he tossed it over to me. I missed the catch, the turnip fell to the ground, but I wanted it so badly that I picked it up and started eating it anyway, mud and all. And then, as I ate it, time deepened and slowed down again. With a lurch of the heart that is real to me still, I saw suddenly, almost as if from beyond time altogether, that not only was the turnip good, but the mud was good too, even the drizzle and cold were good.... Sitting there in the Alabama winter with my mouth full of cold turnip and mud, I could see at least for a moment how if you ever took truly to heart the ultimate goodness and joy of things, even at their bleakest, the need to praise someone or something for it would be so great that you might even have to go out and speak of it to the birds of the air.”
When God looked upon his creation he pronounced that it was good. The fact of creation tells us that the world, and we who are in it, are valuable to God. It says that we are also accountable to him. But most of all it tells us that there is a purpose to all of this — even turnips are good and have a purpose, even mud, even illness, even death, but most of all life has a divine purpose. And in this divine purpose we find our meaning and our joy.
In the words of Elizabeth Browning:
“Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush aflame with God.”
Rodney J. Buchanan
January 2, 2000
IN THE BEGINNING
Genesis 1:1 - 2:3
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).
1. Creation tells us that ____________________________ .
2. Creation tells us that ____________________________ .
3. Creation tells us that ____________________________ .
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION (Jan 2, 2000)
1. What part did Jesus play in the creation of the world? Read John 1: 1-3, 10; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:2.
2. What are some of the current objections to the idea of the world being created by God?
3. What benefits are there in not believing that God created the world?
4. What benefits are there in believing that we have a Creator? What if we were alone in the universe?
5. Would a person find more self-esteem believing in creation or evolution?
6. Endeavoring to have a completely secular culture is a relatively new experiment in the history of the world. Why are people drawn to this, and why are they put off by “religious” explanations for the existence of the world?
7. Read Isaiah 44:24 & Jeremiah 1:5. What do these verses say about the value of human life? What do they say about when life begins?
8. Read Romans 1:18-20. How are creation and morality linked? See also 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
9. Read Acts 17:24-28. What is the meaning of life? Where do you get your concept of life’s meaning?
10. Read Hebrews 1:10-12. If there was a beginning to the world there is also an ending and God is in charge of both. What is our response to be in the light of these realities?
