* God the Artist

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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth—Genesis 1:1

There’s a phrase that says, “When you know how, you know who.” Well, in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 we are told who without giving us many answers to how.

The message of these two chapters is this:
You have seen the sea, you have seen the sky, you have seen the sun and moon, and you have seen the stars. You have watched the birds and the fish. You have observed the landscape and vegetation, the animals, the insects, all the big things and little things together. You have marveled at the wonderful complexity of human beings with all their powers and skills and the deep feelings of fascination, attraction, and affection that men and women arose in each other. Amazing isn’t it? Now meet the One who is behind it all. Now that you’ve enjoyed these works of art, you must shake hands with the artist; since you were thrilled by the music, we will introduce you to the composer.

Like Psalms 104 and Job 38-41, Genesis chapters 1 and 2 were written to show us the Creator rather than the creation, and to teach us knowledge of God rather than physical science.

In creating, God was craftsman, yet unlike any other. The craftsman must shape using existing material—all of which comes from creation—but God created with no material. It was He who said, “Let there be…”

To make this point, theologians speak of creation out of nothing, not meaning that nothing was a sort of something, but that in creating God absolutely was free and unrestricted, and that there was nothing to determine or shape what He brought into being except His own idea of what He would like.

God, your creation is beyond words. As a child I loved playing outside, feeling the sunshine on my back, loving the animals that ran free. How can I ever comprehend the details of your mighty hand? You oh Lord are the mighty craftsman who created out of nothing. My mind has a hard time grasping this, but by faith I worship You and You alone. You have chosen me oh Lord. May I walk in confidence today, not in myself, but in who You are and what You have done.
In Jesus' name. Amen.

Tomorrow: Asking questions about Jesus

Psalm 104
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
O LORD my God, you are very great;
you are clothed with splendor and majesty.

He wraps himself in light as with a garment;
he stretches out the heavens like a tent

and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot
and rides on the wings of the wind.

He makes winds his messengers,
flames of fire his servants.

He set the earth on its foundations;
it can never be moved.

You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.

But at your rebuke the waters fled,
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight;

they flowed over the mountains,
they went down into the valleys,
to the place you assigned for them.

You set a boundary they cannot cross;
never again will they cover the earth.

He makes springs pour water into the ravines;
it flows between the mountains.

They give water to all the beasts of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

The birds of the air nest by the waters;
they sing among the branches.

He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;
the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work.

He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for man to cultivate—
bringing forth food from the earth:

wine that gladdens the heart of man,
oil to make his face shine,
and bread that sustains his heart.

The trees of the LORD are well watered,

the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

There the birds make their nests;
the stork has its home in the pine trees.

The high mountains belong to the wild goats;
the crags are a refuge for the coneys.

The moon marks off the seasons,
and the sun knows when to go down.

You bring darkness, it becomes night,
and all the beasts of the forest prowl.

The lions roar for their prey
and seek their food from God.

The sun rises, and they steal away;
they return and lie down in their dens.

Then man goes out to his work,
to his labor until evening.

How many are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

There is the sea, vast and spacious,
teeming with creatures beyond number—
living things both large and small.

There the ships go to and fro,
and the leviathan, which you formed to frolic there.

These all look to you
to give them their food at the proper time.

When you give it to them,
they gather it up;
when you open your hand,
they are satisfied with good things.

When you hide your face,
they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to the dust.

When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works-

he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke.

I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.

May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the LORD.

But may sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
Praise the LORD.

Images of Creation