Knowing God’s Creation
By Will Powell
Introduction
I am not sure how you have been spending your “extra time” during this pandemic. Perhaps you have tried to use the time profitably, by starting some new project. I know some of you have—writing a book or starting a photography project. Or it may be a more practical DIY project around the house. Or maybe kitchen creations are your thing. I also have some projects—and there are more planned! But why do we turn to these projects? What is it that drives us to do particular things? Do we have a certain aim by doing them?
The Pinnacle of Creation
To try and find out, let us look at Genesis 1 together. We need to investigate how we came into being to understand what makes us tick. Genesis 1:26 tells us, that after God created everything else (sun, moon, stars, the earth, the water, and the land, and all their living things), he finally turns to creating mankind. This act is the pinnacle—the high point of God’s creative work. We might notice as God creates different parts of the Universe, the writer of Genesis notes each day that “it was good”.
For the first time during the creation story, when it comes to creating humans, the phrase “And God said, ‘Let…’ and it was so” is not used. Firstly, God says “Let us make…” It seems this part of creation needed more than just a creative word from God. It needed the involvement of the other parts of God, at least his Spirit, mentioned in Genesis 1:1, as well as his Word. It seems that God creates something incredibly special here, requiring a new ingredient—the whole Trinity is involved!
The particular form for this creation is very special because God decides to create mankind “in his own image” and “in his likeness.” We might ask what that means, whether our physical bodies look exactly like God. We cannot know exactly what is meant, but it seems it is more the character of God. A being which can relate to God mentally, morally, and socially. This is what enables humans to have a relationship with God—which was God’s purpose in creation. And note that he creates “them”—male and female.
Note too that mankind was created for a purpose. Like God, we are created to rule. That means we have a specific dominion. We are expected to take control and to be responsible for all living creatures. Whether on land or in the sea, we are supposed to take care of them all.
Do you remember the feeling of finishing your chosen project? To see or hear what you created. Were you pleased with it? I do remember having to live with the various DIY projects I have embarked on over the years. Mostly they are good reminders of how I have spent some of my time—but not all! But in contrast to my various creations, God sees that his creation, particularly of mankind is “very good.” As we are the ones who have been created, what should our response be?
The Response of the Created
So, let us look at what he has created. Firstly, the physical. As we experience the complexity, redundancy, and capability of our own bodies, are we not filled with wonder? We see the beauty of how different pieces fit together and function for us as we train them. The complexity of how our eyes function or how we can coordinate our limbs to play tennis or football. Are we not filled with awe and wonder? Not to mention the biology of what is going on in our bodies to power them—to keep them healthy and working well.
This is what Psalm 139:14 is talking about. To be alive and to have a body which functions is something for which we should be full of thanks and praise. The Psalms guide us through thanks and praise, not only in the good times, in fact, this self-reflective psalm seems to be written during a time of particular worry and adversity. And yet, it is one of the most perceptive songs of praise written about the created and the creator.
To come back to our motivation for our different projects: often there is something social, moral, or cerebral about what we do. It is no wonder we have an inherent adverse reaction to money-only projects. Whilst we know we need to live, if the only product of a project is to produce money, then we have lost our way. Is it any wonder Jesus was so critical of the love of money itself? Surely it is that which robs us of all our likeness to God.
When Things Go Wrong: What Stole Our Joy?
So why do we often not feel thankful or full of praise for our lives—our bodies, or our social situation? It is all too often that life has thrown us difficulties we’ve not been able to master.
There are small “bumps in the road,” perhaps a strained relationship. Or maybe the disappointment of poor results or a bad appraisal at work. Perhaps some project in which we were heavily invested went badly wrong. But sometimes it is grief, we lose a loved one, perhaps our own father or mother, sister or brother. Each relationship we value but then lose strains our ability to hope—both in ourselves and in our future. But life is full of trials, of massive waves we often don’t see until they hit us. And then we are down, and all too often we lose sight of who we really are or how to make sense of our lives.
Many of you may know I was lucky enough to study at the University of Manchester. During that time, God gave me some incredible relationships as I matured and learned who I was. It was in this context I discovered what it was like to live in Manchester in the late 1980s. The University is located in one of the poorer inner-city parts of Manchester. Many were out of work, and despondent. They had lost their way. The youth growing up in this context, seeing little future for themselves quickly turned to drugs and violence. Drug gangs were normal and different gangs were vying for control of the market.
With this background, I was interested to read about the story of “Pastor Mick” over the Christmas period. I would strongly recommend you read the story yourself. I cannot do justice to his life story trying to summarize what a BBC journalist has done so much better. But perhaps to whet your appetite: here is a man, who following sudden loss of his sister, and abuse, went into such a downward spiral he got involved in the drug gangs of north of Manchester. He had come to the point where he completely hated himself. Even though he had gone to church with his family in his youth, he had ended up with a gun, and was spending his time either dealing drugs or on revenge violence. Until, in a single moment, God caught up with him. Even when he felt he’d had enough, God didn’t let him go. Read his story and understand why he now spends his time trying to feed and clothe Burnley’s poor.
Of course, it can be our physical bodies too which stop functioning —giving us a knock, making us wonder if we really are who we thought we were. I have been incredibly lucky so far. Mostly I have not had to face massive changes in what my body does. But I know things are changing. And for others they change more dramatically, and yet even these impairments do not negate the image in which God created us. We still have our mental, moral and social abilities, and they still fulfill us. Various of you probably have read Joni Eareckson Tada’s autobiography, or seen the film about her having misjudged a dive she broke her back and lost the use of all four limbs. And yet, she has gone on to campaign for people with disabilities, written 40+ books, and continued to write and paint as well as hosting a radio programme.
Hopefully, our lives are less extreme than these two examples. But all of us are faced with situations in life which are a huge challenge. And so often it is how we react to these situations which affect how we perceive ourselves. Here are just two examples:
- The relationships we have are a mess
- We act and react in ways which are not loving, nor helpful
- We try to control or give up control where we should retain it
- What we create is not up to standard (neither ours nor God’s)
- Maybe we focus on the wrong things
- Perhaps we are lazy or careless
- We give up trying to get the devil out! (Toi, Toi, Toi!)
The good news is, even when we seem to fail, God does not give up on us.
Avoiding the Downward Spiral
So, how can we avoid falling into the downward spiral? Here are a few ideas.
First, we should try to create a routine where we can read about who God is—what he is like, and therefore form a more accurate picture of what we are like ourselves. If we are created in God’s image, we should see something of God in our own self and we should learn to nurture that. Daily Bible reading, even if it is only a small amount, God will use to reveal himself to us, and in so doing, revealing who we are.
Second, we need time to reflect on who we are and how God intervenes in our lives. This means taking time to pray. We have been given our dominion and God has his. He is in charge over us. We need to look to him if we are to make sense of our lives—our projects, our creative output, our relationships, and our moral decisions. It means bringing things which are not perfect in our lives to God and asking him to perfect them. This is not something which can be done quickly! It is lifelong sanctification.
Third, we need to spend time in God’s community to help us understand where we still need to improve. But we also need the mutual love within that safe community to be able to flourish in all we do. It is the community of the church where we should see God’s image all around us—if perhaps not perfected yet. We should help each other to see those aspects of our characters to build up God’s Church.
Takeaways
I spent some time focusing on a positive self-image at the beginning because it is what the Bible teaches us about who we are. It is hard to overstate how important this teaching is—because it underpins so much of what we understand about ourselves and how we can relate to God. So as we close I have some reminders on how we can keep our joy.
- Remember to praise God you are made in his image!
- Ask him to help you understand how to show his characteristics in you.
- Keep on track—when life gets tough, lean on God.
- Take joy in the work God gives you to do—projects, caring.
Don’t let anyone or anything steal the joy you know you have in being a child of God!
Photo by Mike Page @KaltenbergMike
