Jesus Was There

Today is the last of my posts on Creation, but I think it is also my favorite. Today I want to share with you one of my favorite truths about the Creation, Jesus Christ was there.

John 1:1-5 (ESV) says, 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 any thing 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.

Think about that for a minute. Not only were we created by a holy and righteous God, but the our perfect and blameless Savior was there. Not only was he there but “all things were made through Him.” My Savior, Jesus Christ who died on a cross for MY sins, also created me. To me that is breathtaking. It is more beautiful than the Grand Canyon, or Niagara Falls, or the Smoky Mountains or any other gorgeous landmark you can think of. The fact that my Savior, created the world that I live in and the sights that take my breath away is awe-inspiring. To think that perfect and pure Son of God created me, a wretch makes me long to fall down and worship him forever and eternity.

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

–Psalm 139:13-16 (ESV)

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Nothing in Creation is Simple

And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.”  So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.  And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”  And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.  And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. -Genesis 1:20-25 (ESV)

If you have ever studied biology, you will be aware that there are organisms tat are refered to as simple organisms. This is actully a misconseption. The reason the organisms are called simple is that they are made up of only one cell. Cells, however are some of the most complex things in creation. That brings us to the subject of today’s post, nothing in creation is simple.

Everything God created is complex in its own way. Even the simplest organism is complex. Ler’s take a look at the atom. The atom is the smalles buidling block in creation. It is made up of three parts, the nucleus is comprised of protons and neutrons and the electrons cirlce the nucleus. Sounds pretty simple, right? Actually it not, first there are three differnt types of shells the electrons can belong to, second the number of electrons and protons effects what element the atom is and the neutrons farther effect the element itself.Then you can get into the whole trading electrons deal,  and that gets even more complex. You starting to get the picture?

Now let’s look at humans specifically. We are by no means simple. First, our bodies are extremely complex. Second, our brains are even more so. We comprehend and know things that no other creature on earth can. Why? Look at Genesis 1:26-27 with me:  Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. We are made in the image of the Creator! How can anything that is made in the image of God be simple? Again, how can anything that is made by God be simple?

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Patterns and Order in Creation

And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. – Genesis 1:9-19 (ESV)

Take a walk outside. Look at the flowers and leaves. What do you see? Most likely you will notice that plants of the same species look nearly identical to the human eye. You may also notice that the most common numbers of petals for a flower to have are five and six. No matter the number of petals, a flower will still have a line of symmetry as will every leaf, blade of grass and almost everything else found in nature. These observations show the patterns that are found in nature. Pattern is an important part of nature. There is a pattern or symmetry to almost everything. We have an ingrained sense of symmetry, something doesn’t look quite right if it doesn’t have at least some symmetry to it.

Order is another important aspect of nature. Look at the stars in the night sky. Each one has its place and some of them form the pictures we call constellations. Also order is found in the marking of time. The sun rises and sets in an orderly fashion and the seasons change year after year. Time is set, it has order and it can’t be changed. We also have a sense of order. We have certain things we do each day, and when we don’t do them it throws everything off.

Despite pattern and order, science wants to tell us that we came from chaos and primordial goo. Answer me this, how did nature become so ordered and saturated in patterns and symmetry if it came from chaos? How did we become so orderly if we emerged from primordial goo? There is only one answer, God created the earth and all that is in it. Nature has a design, in order for there to be a design there must by a designer.

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Creation Proclaims God’s Existence

Think to yourself for a minute. Out of all the places on earth that you’ve been, what place has been the most beautiful? I don’t mean a pretty house or some museum or a particular piece of architecture. What I mean is nature itself.

When you think of the most beautiful place on earth what comes to mind? Do you think of soaring mountains of sandy beaches? Do you picture rushing water and crashing falls or silent forests reaching for the sky? Is this place far away, or just down the road? When you think of this place or when you are standing there admiring its beauty, what comes to mind?

A few years ago I got to go to youth camp for the second, and so far the last, time. We were in the mountains of Georgia. Every morning I got to wake up and walk outside to see the beautiful mountains stretching out as far as I could see. Every year my family goes to the Smokies on a camping trip. We stay right next the the river and visit Cades Cove and at least on waterfall, all of which is breath taking. I just got back from Florida where I got to see the sun set while we were at the beach. That is a gorgeous sight. Now, what do all these sights have in common? In fact as wondrous as these things are they have something in common with my mother’s rose bush that’s in the front yard. What they have in common is what I think when I see them. When I look at some piece of nature, no matter how big or how small, I can’t help but smile and remember that the same God who created such a breath taking view, of such a wonderful flower, is the same God the created me. Let me tell you, the feeling that that thought gives is so wonderful it is truly indescribable.

The Native Americans used to believe that everything in nature had a spirit. In a small way, they were right. The things in nature are not inhabited by a multitude of spirits, instead they have something better. All of nature is filled with God’s presence. And creation shouts because of it.

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork

-Psalm 19:1 (ESV)

Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it;
shout, O depths of the earth;
break forth into singing, O mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
and will be glorified in Israel.

-Isiah 44:23 (ESV)

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!

-Psalm 150:6 (ESV)

Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise!
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you;
they sing praises to your name.”

-Psalm 66:1-4 (ESV)

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