Creation is one of my favorite topics. I love being outside. Trees display wisdom, breeze interrupts thoughts, flowers distract from conversation, and mountains take your breath away. On my 21st birthday my husband took me to the Grand Canyon. There is nothing like it. I don’t think it’s possible to actually take it all in! Eventually what you’re looking at just turns into a canvas, someone’s painting of their imagination. This is how I feel about a lot of creation, the exception being snakes! Still, I can even admire the beauty and detail of a slithering serpent; it just has to be a good distance away.
I don’t intend to take this time proving creationism here. God created everything we see. * There are hundreds of verses that talk about creation. The first two chapters of Genesis, tons of the prophets refer to creation, the New Testament references it all the time, especially in relation to Jesus and how He has been around “since the beginning of creation.” Still, to refresh our memory let’s take a moment to briefly review how creation came to be.
Day 1: God created light and darkness
Day 2: God created water and expanse
Day 3: God created land to separate the water and vegetation
Day 4: God created moon and stars (therefore day and night)
Day 5: God created animals (air and sea)
Day 6: God created land animals and humans (humans in His own image)
Day 7: God rested
My hope through this reflection is that everyone would be able to truly enjoy creation and give it its proper respect for the right reasons. Not only did the Lord give it to us to take care of as a gift, but it is actually alive; it’s part of the redemption God talks about in His Word. Forget being earth conscious because it’s trendy or because someone realized we haven’t been taking care of it all that well and it scares us. Forget needing to sustain the environment for our children or our children’s children, though a worthy idea. Let’s respect the earth and everything in it because we share the same Creator, God told us to do so, and because it’s breath-taking!
Scripture will always be my preference over my own thoughts. Below you’ll find verse after verse describing creations role with God.
Creation is our gift and responsibility.
After God creates man and women He says, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” (Genesis 1:28)
And again in Genesis 2:15, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”
Creation praises God.
Throughout Psalm 148 creation is invited to worship its Creator: “Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created…Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds….”
Psalm 66:4, “All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name.”
Creation obeys God.
Mark 4:39-41, “Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be Still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’”
Even God’s wrath isn’t saved for just humans; it spreads to all of creation.
Jeremiah 7:20, “This is what the sovereign Lord says, ‘My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground, and it will burn and not be quenched.’”
Creation lives.
Ezekiel 17:24, “All of the trees of the field will know that I the LORD bring down the tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish.”
I Chronicles 16:31-33, “Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns!’ Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them! Then the trees of the forest will sing, they will sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.”
Creation is affected by sin and waits for redemption along with us.
Romans 8:19-23, “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from this bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”
See also Ephesians 1:7-10 and Matthew 19:28
God has an intimate relationship with what He has created. Nothing demonstrates God’s pride and knowledge of His creation better than the ending chapters of Job. Here is just a brief preview of what God covers in these chapters:
-God orders waves to stop (38:11)
-God knows where light and darkness reside (38:19)
-God has storehouses of snow (38:22)
-God knows where lightening is dispersed (38:24)
-God binds the constellations (38:31-32)
-God hunts prey for the lioness and satisfies its hunger (38:39)
-Birds cry to God for food (38:41)
-God knows when the mountain goat gives birth (9:1-2)
-God writes of His intimate knowledge of the ostrich (39:13-18)
-God clothes horses with their strength and mane (39:19)
How can we not stand in awe of what surrounds us? In some ways I’m envious of the earth and everything in it. Creation seems to obey and praise God without any hesitation. While I can admire this, I must admit it’s also a loving reminder to me how much more the Lord loves and cares for me, one made in His own image. Matthew 6:26 Jesus says, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” We may not obey God in every moment, but we also are given souls, free will, and a more intimate relationship with our Creator, something creation does not experience. We get choices, the wind and the waves don’t. We get to know God and choose to love Him, the trees and rocks don’t. God has a special, unique relationship with us, a relationship that goes deeper than any other part of creation. Think about how intimate those passages were in Job. Now imagine how God feels about us. Aren’t we the luckiest?
My hope is that you recognize the power and beauty of creation as well as the partnership we have been given with it. May we admire the work of our Creator, not just in ourselves, but also in everything around us!
*If you read this and are struggling with this belief, this website just may not be for you. This site is to celebrate our God and learn more about Him and our relationship with Him. You’re certainly welcome to continue here, but it just may not have the same affect on you!