Introduction
The Reichstag in Berlin is a beautiful building, and like most structures built before the modern architectural era, it is very ornate. The detailed design of certain areas of the building is part of the reason people are attracted to it. But in 1995 two artists named Christo and Jean-Claude covered the entire Reichstag in fabric, hiding the details and exposing the essence of the structure. It was beautiful. The shape of the building, the larger form, had been ignored by people who were in awe of the decoration. By covering up that decoration, they could see and appreciate the beauty of the whole thing. I think many people in business today need to pull out some fabric and do the same thing.
If someone can’t see the wood for the trees they get so caught up in the details that they fail to understand see the bigger picture. Over next 5 weeks I want to do something I’ve been suggesting i.e. look at the overall message, the big picture of what God has been and is doing. I think that this is particularly important when it comes to the bible. We have our favourite bits but we need to see what the overall message is from time to time. It gives us perspective, it helps us to make sense of things.
To do this we need to start at the beginning. The first chapter in God’s great story is the story of creation. So often Genesis is seen as a battleground re: creation v. evolution. This completely misses the point. What is the point? I want us to see what exactly the point is.
1. God made the world
Genesis tells us that God is creator. Arguments of timescale and agency are beside the point. He is maker of all things in heaven and earth. The implications of this are massive.
He is therefore Lord & Ruler, the one who is responsible for a universe of infinite proportions is Lord of all. God is in control - he is in charge. It means that despite the turmoil in the Middle East at the moment God rules. He does not want people to be killing each other, but his plan will take account the sinful actions of his creation. It means personally whatever we face – God is bigger, whatever the challenge, be it redundancy, a tumour, opposition etc. He is in charge, he gives and he takes away, we may not know the reasoning – Is. 40:25-31.
Take a look at this piece of artwork. Famously by Leonardo da Vinci – we all know that an artist of such brilliance produced only good work. When we realise that this is God’s handiwork we know that it is good. Da Vinci’s work has been a little spoiled by the years, creation is marred by the fall, but it is still good. God has given us so much to enjoy. Because he made it all that he made he made good. Do not call anything he has made unclean, come back to that at the moment. This is a wonderful world. Thank God for the world we live in, yes it is marred, but it still retains so much of the original beauty and splendour its creator built into it.
God is revealed in it – as da Vinci’s brilliance is revealed so you can tell much about God from what he has made. I am amazed at the beauty of nature, it takes your breath away. I like pictures of the Grand Canyon, look at this one. Whatever takes your breath away, we know from what God has made that he is immensely powerful, incredibly brilliant, the heavens declare the glory of God – Psalm 19:1-4. We must not lost our capacity for awe. When a very small child sees a bird it points and is awestruck, we who have seen a bird 10,000 times are not in the least amazed. But the ability to experience awe is a necessary part of the ability to worship. To be amazed by creation, awestruck is to be amazed and awestruck by it’s creator = worship.
2. The role of man
The story of creation also tells us we are unique, made in the image of God. We are rational beings (well some of us anyway!) with the ability to reflect, plan and create, we have emotions where we can love and hate, we have the power of moral choice, to do right or wrong. Uniquely we have the capacity for awe and worship. It reminds us that we are like God in many ways, which image may have been marred in the fall but it is still there. It reminds us that we are all made in the image of God, make and female, black and white, all creeds and colours. The racism that causes so much pain and conflict is completely illogical since we share a common parentage. Sexism, Racism, Nationalism – ignore this simple fact. As the people of God we should be at the forefront of affirming and living out this principle of the equal worth of all human beings, made in the image of our heavenly father. We are family.
God has made us tenants of the world: We are tenants, passers through – we do not own it - God does. If you die and leaven no will and you have no living relatives where does your estate go? It passes to the crown. But whether we leave a will or not, whether we have any surviving relatives we cannot take it with us, we leave it behind. Ultimately it is God’s. “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” Ps.24:1. When we moved here in 1992 we ended up renting a house for 6 months. We became tenants. We liked the house, we signed the tenancy agreement. There were various rules and responsibilities we were committed to in order to enjoy it. Most of which were common sense and centred on taking care of it. In the same way, creation reminds us that we have certain responsibilities as tenants of God’s world:
To look after it – I think that the more we think about it the more we realise our responsibility in environmental issues. “Flying abroad for a holiday is a sin against the planet, according to a leading bishop. So how do you go away without incurring the wrath of the Church? Like stealing and adultery, choosing to fly has moral consequences because of its effect on the environment, says the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres. "Sin is not just a restricted list of moral mistakes," he says in the Sunday Times. "It is living a life turned in on itself where people ignore the consequences of their actions." I am not necessarily agreeing with him, but I think that we are all far more aware of how we need to take care of God’s world.
But God has given us this world as the story shows us to enjoy. Theologians separate graced into special and common grace. Special refers to that which comes through Jesus, common refers to the things we all enjoy. Food and drink – I love it, when I eat and drink I am experiencing the grace of God, I do so with thanks. When I am listening to a Beethoven or Sibelius symphony, the Bruch or Mendelsshon Violin Concerto I do so with thankfulness, I am experiencing the grace of God. The same goes for when we enjoy a beautiful sunset, when we enjoy sexual experience and many other things – it is all part and parcel of God’s grace in giving us this world to enjoy.
Conclusion
Of course this is only the first chapter in God’s great story and plan. But it provides the foundation for everything else. Let us respond with thankfulness and worship for all that God has made.
