“For by him [Jesus] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” – Colossians 1:16
Have you ever wondered why you exist?
It’s one of the common questions of humanity.
How did life begin?
Why do we exist?
What is life’s purpose?
I’m a science fiction buff and I’ve watched and read countless stories where one of those three questions was at the core of the narrative. Could it be, though, that the reason so many wonder these questions is because they simply don’t want to accept the answer?
(Spoiler Alert)
In the 2000 movie, Mission to Mars, astronauts fly to Mars and discover that aliens created human beings. They were all amazed. It’s interesting isn’t it that writers of the story were more fascinated by the idea that humanity was created by an alien race, than by God.
How did life begin?
Colossians 1:16 tells us. God created life out of nothing through Jesus and He continues to create and sustain everything that is, including you.
Why do we exist?
Again, Colossians 1:16 tells us. We exist for God. That is, we exist because He wanted to create us.
What is life’s purpose?
God created us to be in relation with Him. We see this in the way God interacted with Adam and Eve. He walked and talked with them regularly. He cared for their needs. He loved them. So, the purpose of life is to know and love God personally and to be known and loved by God personally. Should we also love others and obey God’s commands? Sure. That’s part of loving God.
However, it’s not just about loving God. It’s also about God loving you. We can see how important this is to God in the work of Jesus Christ.
God wants so much to be in a loving relationship with you that He not only created you, (yes, you, personally), but since you were born sinful and in a broken relationship with God, He also died on the cross to restore that loving relationship with you.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for creating me and loving me. Thank You for loving me so much that You were willing to send Your Son to die for me so that I could be forgiven and our relationship could be restored. Help me to always love You and please strengthen my relationship with You.
“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.” – John 1:1-3
Who created the world?
God, right? Yes, but often times we are more specific. It’s God the Father, right? That’s what we confess in the Apostles’ Creed.
The Trinity The Trinity is an interesting thing. We really don’t have anything in our experience that is analogous to the Trinity. That is why every analogy we attempt eventually fails and leads us into heresy. (BTW – The Lutheran Satire video at the end of today’s post does a great job of illustrating that…and it’s hilarious.)
Because the Trinity doesn’t isn’t within our ability to fully comprehend we tend to focus more on either the 3 persons of God or the unity of God. In other words, we either tend to focus more the one God doing all things or on the individual attributes of the three persons of God (Father = Creator, Son = Savior, Holy Spirit = Sanctifier).
The Bible, however, teaches the doctrine of the Trinity (three persons, but one God) and so every now and then the Scriptures say something that may throw us for a loop. John 1 is a great example.
The Father created everything, right?
Well, it turns out the Son was there and everything was created through Him. You can also see this in Isaiah 9,
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6
Here, the Son is called Mighty God and Everlasting Father, two terms we usually associate with the Father. Jesus is also called “Wonderful Counselor,” though the Spirit is usually referred to as the Counselor.
If you tend to focus on the three persons of the Trinity, passages like these feel odd, yet they are absolutely true.
The Son is the Son, the Father the Father, and the Spirit the Spirit, but the Son is the Father and Spirit, the Father the Spirit and Son, and the Spirit the Father and Son and passages like these reveal that triune nature of God.
So, yes, Jesus is the creator.
…as is the Father and Spirit.
That creator became His own creation for our salvation.
So, let us celebrate the Triune God as we prepare for Christmas.
Lord,
You are the one true God, but also revealed to be three persons. Help me to believe in Your triune nature even when I don’t understand it all.
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.” – Psalm 19:1-2
When was the last time you caught a sunrise or sunset?
I remember the first time I went out West and saw the desolate beauty of Arizona. The Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, even just drying around I was amazed and captivated by what God had done. I remember driving down the road and putting on Andrew Peterson’s, “Nothing to Say,” and just taking it all in.
The other day, Space X, had their first manned space flight, taking astronauts up to the International Space Station. It was a marvel of ingenuity and displayed the glory of humanity. As awesome as it was, it still doesn’t compare to the awesome majesty of God displayed in creation.
It’s not, of course, just Arizona. There are countless places we see the majesty of God and His glorious handiwork. Even a simple sunset, with its plethora of hues and paint a picture of our loving, creative Father.
Maybe today, take a few minutes to go outside and watch the sunset.
Heavenly Father,
The heavens truly do declare Your glory. I stand in awe of You and Your creative work.
Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
If you’d like to listen to “Nothing to Say” by Andrew Peterson, here you go:
“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.” – Psalm 139:13-14
When you look in the mirror, do you see someone valuable and loved or do you feel worthless and unloved?
There are a lot of people who struggle with self-image issues. There’s a lot in the world that seeks to beat us down. Even just looking through social media can cause people to feel terrible.
There are also those in the world who seek to help with people’s self-image, but their advice is noticeably self-focused.
“You be you.”
“You are beautiful the way you are.”
“I’m good enough, smart enough, and people love me.”
There are two big problems with this approach, though.
Either it pushes you towards self-righteousness or it fails and leads to worse depression.
It’s based in a lie. The Bible tells us that we are not OK. In and of ourselves, we are sinners.
What Does God Say?
The Bible doesn’t ignore our sinful state. It addresses it through Jesus. Yes, you are a sinner, but you are also a saint, forgiven by Jesus death and resurrection.
God tells you to look outside of yourself. He tells you that you are loved and valuable not because you are such a great person or you look good or anything else in yourself. He says you are loved and valuable because He made you and loves you. So, when we are honest when looking at ourselves and see the sin and shame, we can still say that we are loved and valuable because of what God has said and done.
God also tells us to deny ourselves. “You be you,” invites you to continue in your sin, maybe even dig in deeper. The Bible says, rather, to deny yourself and seek Him.
You Are Loved and Valued No one should look in the mirror and feel unloved or unvalued. You are. God has said you are. God has shown you that He loves you and values you enough to die for you. He made you and continues to remake you in the image of Christ.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for making me. Thank You for loving me. Thank You for sending Your Son to die for me. Defend me against the accusations of the devil, the world, and my own self. Remind me that I am who You say I am. I am Yours, fearfully and wonderfully made.
“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” – Hebrews 1:3
Why are you here?
Often, this question is an question of purpose, but today I ask it as a question of existence. You’ve heard it said that God created the universe. We confess it every week in church. Today, God as creator is questioned by many, but the Bible is clear. God is the creator. The other idea I see floated around, even by some Christians, is that God created and now it just runs without much or any interference from God.
That’s not what the Bible describes, though. Not only did God create all things, He continues to sustain them. Hebrews 1:3 says this as does Colossians 1:17.
“For by [Jesus] him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” – Colossians 1:16-17
You are here because God continues to sustain your every breath.
Think about that for a minute. Let it sink in. God not only created you but continues to give you life.
Sometimes we can feel like we don’t matter and wonder if God really cares about us or even notices us. Yes, He does. That breath you just took is from Him. He thinks about you. He knows you better than you know yourself. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. He loves you.
Heavenly Father,
Your creation is amazing. There are such beauty and creativity. Thank You for your creation. Thank you for creating me. Thank You for continuing to sustain me and all things.
“And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” – Genesis 1:3
In the beginning there was nothing of creation. No animals. No plants. No dirt. No Sun. No elements or atoms. Nothing. There was only God. Then God spoke, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God continued for 6 days to speak…
“Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” God called the vault “sky.”
“Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.”
“Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.”
“Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.”
“Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
Here we see God’s awesome power and it’s amazing. However, it’s not just some amazing thing God did a long time ago. That same creating Word is still at work today in your life.
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” – Hebrews 1:3
and
“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” – Colossians 1:17
God continues to sustain His creation by His Word. He also creates new life in us through His Word.
We receive new life in Christ when we receive faith in Him. This is a gift of God and one which is given through God’s Word.
“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” – Romans 10:17
God’s Word is powerful. The same power that spoke the universe into existence, speaks new life into you. He declares you righteous. He says your sins are forgiven. He says you are His child. He says you are loved.
So, when you start to doubt, when the enemy accuses you of being worthless and condemned, when you feel unloved, look at the creation around you and remember it is God who spoke that into existence. Tell the enemy and yourself that your sins are forgiven, you are loved, you are God’s because God said so and when He says something, it is.
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for giving me life and continuing to sustain that life. Thank you for giving me faith by the power of Your Word. You have removed my sin and declared me righteous not because of anything I have done, but because of Your great love and mercy. Help me to always remember that what You say is always true and that You speak life into existence.