New City Catechism Question 5
Q: What else did God create?
A: God created all things by his powerful Word, and all his
creation was very good; everything flourished under his loving rule.
Genesis 1:31
“And God saw everything he had made, and behold, it was very
good.”
This is a very simple, yet mind blowing truth. God created
everything. We often water down this discussion of what God made with the tangential discussion of how God made it. Was it in seven literal
24 hour days? Are the days in Genesis 1 referring to ages that account for the
seemingly old age of the earth? The list of questions goes on and on. Now while
it is not necessarily a bad thing to reflect on how God made everything, it can
distract us away from the more foundational (and certain) truth… God made
everything. And everything he made was good. What Genesis 1 draws us to is not
a scientific debate but to a powerful statement of God’s power and might and
rule… God made everything and it was very good. God made each and every galaxy
that exists, and he made each and every one of the hundreds of millions of
stars in every single one of those galaxies. And he made each and every thing
in those galaxies, down to the smallest atom and particle. And in the New
Testament we see more specifically that all things are made by, through, and
for Christ, God the Son (John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:15-17). All things are
created through the cosmic Christ. Kent Hughes explains it well in the
catechism material when he says that if he commandeered the starship Enterprise
from Star Trek and travelled at warp speed past galaxy after countless galaxy,
and ended up in some remote corner of the universe, even the smallest piece of
stellar dust would be created by Christ and sustained by Christ.
And such a powerful truth should evoke a powerful response
from those who love God. And yet this is where so many Christians stand
underwhelmed looking at creation and the work of the cosmic Christ. Maybe we
simply don’t think enough about the awesomeness of God’s creation, or maybe we
just don’t allow enough time for such a powerful work of God to shape our minds
and our hearts. But if we do allow ourselves some reflection on the cosmic
Christ, at least two responses become very clear.
First, the cosmic Christ leads us into deeper worship. When
we are overwhelmed by the beauty and majesty of all of God’s creation, then
worship will naturally follow. Focusing on the vastness of God’s creation while
at the same time reflecting on the intricate details of that creation takes us
away from ourselves and the daily stresses we face and prepares our hearts to
truly cry out “How Great is Our God!” It is not surprising then, that Kent
Hughes in the catechism material notes that he often begins his time of daily
devotion and prayer by reflecting on the universe and God’s creation. The
glorious work of the cosmic Christ truly does lead to deeper and more
heartfelt, genuine worship.
Second, the cosmic Christ challenges us to let go of our
anxieties. Christ has created and continually sustains very part of our vast
universe. Everything is sustained by
his loving care. And when we compare that to the situations in our lives that
cause us anxiety, they are relatively miniscule. This is not to say that these
situations are trivial; certainly many of the situations that cause us anxiety
are very real situations with very serious problems. But the cosmic Christ
reminds us that those problems that seem so big and terrifying to us are not a
problem for him! Our difficulties and struggles are not a problem for the one
who creates and sustains even the smallest piece of stellar dust light years
away! So when Jesus exhorts us not to worry about our lives, about what we will
eat, or drink, or wear, this is not some a motivational pep talk (Matthew
6:25ff). This is not about us simply being positive in the face of tough
circumstances. This is the creator God who loves us and died for us telling us
that whatever uncertainty we face, he has it taken care of and we don’t need to
worry about it!
Certainly there are further responses we can have to the cosmic Christ, all of which are worth times of deep reflection. We can reflect on the divine power and authority that Christ has in all things and over all things. And we can reflect on how there is order and purpose in creation, and not randomness. But if we can just begin by allowing the cosmic Christ to lead us into deeper worship where the focus is off ourselves and on our great creator God, and then respond by casting our anxieties on him, our lives will be radically transformed. Will you do it?
Certainly there are further responses we can have to the cosmic Christ, all of which are worth times of deep reflection. We can reflect on the divine power and authority that Christ has in all things and over all things. And we can reflect on how there is order and purpose in creation, and not randomness. But if we can just begin by allowing the cosmic Christ to lead us into deeper worship where the focus is off ourselves and on our great creator God, and then respond by casting our anxieties on him, our lives will be radically transformed. Will you do it?
No comments:
Post a Comment