Creator

Creator: A person or thing that brings something into existence

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:1-5 ESV

 

    When I think of the word creator, I often think of someone who is often good with their hands at building or making things, or someone who is talented musically.  A creator could be someone like the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, who was so talented with a pant brush that his paintings are known all over the world and often go for absurd prices. Or a creator can be someone like my grandfather who was always tinkering and building or modifying something.  The classic definition of a creator is someone who can make something great out of nothing.  As humans, we need things like paint, paint brushes and a canvas to create something because we do not have the capability to create something beautiful or even destructive out of thin air.  The only person that can create something out of nothing is God, and a prime example of this is the first two chapters of Genesis.  The big Latin word for this is Ex Nihilo, which literally “out of nothing.”  So God is the only one who can create something out of nothing and call it good.  Here are some observations about being a creator.

 

    My first observation is that God is eternal.  One needs to be in existence before they can create.  This is why I chose John 1 as our passage, because it shows not only that God is eternal, but Jesus and the Holy Spirit are eternal and a part of the creative process.  Being eternal means that one has no beginning and no end.  To be honest, being eternal means that one has no beginning and no end.  It is like being on the plains of Western Kansas, where one can not see the beginning or the end of it.  God the Father also, works in conjunction with the Son and Spirit to create and it helps dive into the mystery of the Trinity.  It shows that the Son and Spirit are eternal and equal with God the Father and not created beings.  We can dive into the Jehovah Witnesses and the Arianism Heresy another time, but in order to create, one needs to be present to do so. 

 

   So here is a rabbit trail, if one is basing their hope on evolution and everything starting with a big bang, wouldn’t their need to be particles or something there to combust to have a big bang moment.  This means what where we live, things we take comfort in and people we have interactions with, not only has a begging by some random lucky explosion, but it also has an ending with nothing.  It makes life that we live pretty bleak and meaningless, because what we take comfort in or worship eventually will fail us and can not get us out of the predicament we find ourselves in.  There is a Christian form of evolution where God created things or got things going, and then He took His hands off and let things run their course.  This not only makes God a Deist where He creates and walks away, but also it could make Him a narccacistic thug who enjoys watching us destroy ourselves. 

 

  My second observation is that God creates because it is a part of His nature.  God is God and He can do things as He pleases.  One of Gods characteristics is that He wants to be in relationship.  God the Father created the heavens and the earth because He wants to share the relationship He has with the Son and Sprit with all of creation.  It is Gods nature to share the relationship He has within the Trinity with all of creation.  God desires to dwell among His people and for Him to be our God and for us to be His people.  This could make God out to be needy, which He isn’t, but instead God creates to show His goodness.  What makes God not needy is that He is willing to let people go and do their own thing if they don’t follow His standards.  The thing that is in Gods nature of being a Creator, is that He realizes that with in relationships, it is a two way street.  God can and has provided a way to be in relationship with Him, but it is our choice to take that offer.  God does all the heavy lifting, but we have to follow in obedience and faith for the relationship to work,  If we don’t we suffer the consequences and eventually the relationship is cut off. 

   My third observation is that God the Creator not only cares for His creation, but there is a pecking order within the created order.  The Trinity is at the top of the pyramid and has authority over all and is eternal.  If we go back to the creation story, we find out that what sets humans apart from all other creation is that we have a soul.  From my understanding of it is that our soul is actually God breathing life into our bodies.  What makes us different is that we are created in the image of God and the rest of creation does not have this distinction.  This means several things, the first thing is that God put us in charge of all creation and to care for it.  This does not mean we own it and we can do whatever we want, or we fall into pantheism and saying that God is in the created. Even though God created everything, not everything has his stamp, or breath.  This is reserved for us as people, and that means how we care for and manage Gods creation says a lot about who or what we worship.  A side note, the created things are for us to use and to manage, and not to worship or consider it equal.  Here is the thing about being created in Gods image and having a soul, it means even though our bodies age and become wore out, our souls don’t.  Eventually are bodies will return to dust and our souls will go to eternity and receive Gods fair and just judgement.

   My fourth observation is that God cares for His creation.  I know I have tried to weave this idea throughout this blog, but I think it is something we need to wrap our heads around.  Especially during a pandemic and a hateful election season.  The Gospel of Matthew shares that if God cares for the sparrows and cloths the flowers, how much more will He care for us.  The Psalmist declares that God knitted us in our mother’s womb, and knew of us before we even did.  God does not abandon His creation, we might not get what we want, but we will always receive what we need.  Our goal should not just be a person created in the image of God, but also becoming a child of God and there is a difference.  Being a child means that we as the created are submitting to Gods authority and being transformed by His power on a daily basis.  This is probably off topic, but God doesn’t want us comfortable and safe, but He wants us to rely on Him and to step out of our comfort zone.  This means that we don’t do things that are stupid, but we do things that are risky. 

    To wrap things up I will leave you all with these couple of thoughts.  The first one is that since God is creator, not only can He create things, but He can make all things new.  No matter what we have done, or where we have been, God can and is willing to make things new and restore us, not only now, but for eternity.  Let me close with this Psalm

May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
    may the Lord rejoice in his works,
who looks on the earth and it trembles,
    who touches the mountains and they smoke!
 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
    I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
    for I rejoice in the Lord.

Psalm 104:31-31 ESV

Questions to Ponder

   What does our meditations and or prayer say about our wants and desires?

   How often do we worship the created and not the Creator?

   What does Gods actions say about His nature?

Sacrifice

Sacrifice: an act of offering to a deity that is precious and requires the death of the victim on an altar; the destruction or surrender of something for something else

Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—
    but my ears you have opened^[c]—
    burnt offerings and sin offerings^[d] you did not require.
 Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
    it is written about me in the scroll.
I desire to do your will, my God;
    your law is within my heart.”

Psalms 4o:6-8 NIV

 

When I first read the first this passage, two things came to mind.  The first one is the famous Micah 6:8 passage of loving mercy, doing justice, and walking humbly with our God.  This passage gets quoted all the time and it implies that our faith requires some sort of action.  In essence there is some sort of standard of how we are to conduct ourselves not only with God but also with others.  The second thing that came to my mind is the Old Testament sacrificial system.  Not only did the nation of Israel bring gifts to the altar to recognize Gods goodness and protection, but they also sacrificed a spotless animal for the forgiveness of sin and so they could maintain a right relationship with God.  This is where the Day of Atonement comes in where the Hight Priest sacrificed a spotless sheep for the sins of the whole nation.  It got me thinking that God has a standard of not only how we interact with Him, but how we interact with others.  Here are some observations I have made.

My first observation is that God can not be bought off.  How often do we try and use good works or deeds to get on Gods good side.  It could be that we lead a small group, be a sponsor in some sort of recovery program, to dropping an extra twenty bucks in the offering plate/online giving.  This sort of sacrifice comes down to two things.  The first one is that we are trying to make ourselves look better than what we are.  We are trying to distract God and others from our issues,  addictions, and our quirks.  In essence, we are trying to earn our way into heaven.  The second thing that this form of sacrifice brings is this concept of karma.  If we do more good things for God and others than bad, this means we will get into heaven.  It does not work this way with Christianity, because we can not earn our way into heaven.  If we could, Jesus death and resurrection is pointless.  To borrow a little Marin Luther, salvation comes through grace, faith and Scripture. 

My second observation is that intentions matter.  How often do we sacrifice something to get what we want.  This often is a form of manipulation, because we are holding dirt on someone and we will release it until we get what we want.  In essence, we are using people to get things, and this is not very Biblical.  We often forget about truth, honesty and integrity, because we are more concerned about stepping on people to get what we want.  Is it destroying people get a job promotion or pay raise at work?  Or is it destroying the Ex so the family for friends will like you more than the other person.  True sacrifice is where our intentions is based not on the giving or the giving up of something, but point ourselves and others to the throne of Jesus.   

My third observation is that sacrifice is relational.  My question is, can we truly give up something great, if there is not relationship.  I think that is the direction of the Micah passage.  Our sacrifices either do not carry as much weight or becomes pointless if there is not a healthy relationship.  If we are only in relationships based on what we can give and receive from each other.  It is seeing people as things or transactions and not people made in the image of God.  This business way of doing life often makes us, lonely, jaded and bitter because we often feel that our sacrifices that we put out is greater than what we receive.  This sacrifice is more of what I can get out of life than what I can give. 

My fourth observation is that true sacrifice requires not just a part of us but all of us.  In the passage above, I think that God is railing on the Israelites because He wasn’t getting all of them.  They only had one foot in the boat, and the other foot was out to bail just in case things got bad or uncomfortable.  Our sacrifices become meaningless if we are not all in.  God is telling us through David that He wants all of us or nothing at all.  This reminds me of the Movie Happy Gilmore where Adam Sandler’s character gets into a fight with Bob Barker’s character.  How often are we like Sandler and become frustrated with God and ask Him if He wants a piece of us.  Bob Barker’s character responds, “I don’t want a piece of you, I want the whole damn thing.”  When something only has are partial attention or commitment, how often do we get wondering eyes and start looking else where and doing other things that distract and cause trouble with co and others.

To wrap up, when we sacrifice or give ourselves completely to God, our outlook, intentions and relationships all change for the better.  In essence, it is a realization that everything is Gods to begin with and that sacrifice is giving everything back to God, including our whole lives.  This is when we become a living sacrifice and not only does Gods power through the Holy Spirit change us from the inside, and empowers us to do great things.  Thins changes how we view and interact with people.  This only happens when we commit to God and His laws and desires become ours.  Here is a warning, when we are living sacrifices, it is easy to get off of the altar.  This is where grace and forgiveness comes in. 

Questions to Ponder

  What makes it difficult to be a living sacrifice?

   How do our intentions affect our relationships?

   What is that one thing that God is calling you to give up or to step out on?

   Why do we desire to manipulate God and or others?