We can scarcely begin to imagine the power and the awesome majesty of a God who, at the beginning of what we call time, looked out on sheer nothingness and said, "Let there be light!" Before any eye was there to see it, suddenly the universe began to materialize. Soon there were stars and galaxies and planets. Our own earth began to take shape and the waters gave way to continents and islands. And then what we call "life"—growing things—began to appear and soon they swarmed both the seas and the land. And finally there was a man and a woman.

It all happens in what seems like a mere moment as we read the story in Genesis 1. Whether you believe that the whole process took a few days or a few eons of time under God’s control, it was still a very short time for God. And before the foundations of the earth were laid, God was dreaming about you and me. We are unrepeatable miracles—unique, planned, loved.

We don’t think often about creation theologically. We spend far more time with redemption. But Scripture is clear that God has given us three primary sources about himself: 1) the Bible; 2) Jesus, who shows us the character of God up close; and 3) the creation. Psalm 19:1-4 says: "The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." Psalm 111.2 says: "Great are the works of the Lord, studied/pondered by all who have pleasure in them." John Stott comments that "What God has revealed, we are to study, to explore, to ponder, to meditate on, to make our own, and to rejoice in. We should be fascinated by the self-revelation of God and want to study his mighty works." [J. R. W. Stott, "The Works of the Lord," in The Best Preaching on Earth, ed. Stan LeQuire, p. 79.] Jesus said, "Look at the birds of the air …" And that is why, Stott says, that he became a bird-watcher.

I want to be quick to point out that what we "see" in the material world is that which God has created on the canvas of space and time. But that’s not all of created reality. God also creates in the spiritual realm. There are connections between these two, which are largely denied by the naturalists, and frequently overly speculated about by those with various forms of spiritual fervor. Right now we are in a time when popular religion in America is full of images of spiritual power, angels, the identification of spiritual principalities, and paranormal events. Much is sheer fantasy, but make no mistake that creation is far more than what our physical senses can explore.

What do we discover about the God of Creation?

Is God big enough?

One of the frequent questions which is always asked by those who are in real trouble is, "Is God big enough?" In the ancient world, it was framed this way: "Is our God merely another local deity, or can he actually do something about the events of life?" "Is our way hid from God? Can he know what’s going on all over the world at once?"

The prophet Isaiah answered that question by pointing the people to the revelation of creation itself in Isaiah 40:26-27 "Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these [lights in the heavens]? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God’?"

Have you ever laid out on your back at night in a very dark place with a very clear sky? The majesty of the stars is overwhelming. And now we’re learning more and more about the structure of the universe created by God. Our little blue planet circles a medium sized star which we call "Sol". Our closest neighboring star is Alpha Centauri, which is 4.3 light-years away. That’s a long way, when you consider that light travels at 186,000 miles per second. Our star and Alpha Centauri are only two stars in our spiral shaped galaxy, called the Milky Way, which consists of several hundred million stars and is over 100,000 light-years across. Our next neighboring galaxy is the Andromeda galaxy which is about 2 million light-years away. And both of these galaxies are a part of what is known as the "Local Group" which consists of three large spiral galaxies and a number of smaller galactic clusters spanning nearly 5 million light-years of space. 

But there are much larger galactic clusters out there in deep space that we can now see with the aid of the Hubble Space Telescope. The Virgo cluster of galaxies has an estimated 1000 galaxies and spans 10 million light-years of space while the Coma Cluster, which is almost 300 million light-years away, contains perhaps 10,000 galaxies (some with as many as a billion stars) and spreads across 20 million light-years of space. And the distances between these galactic clusters averages over 10 million light-years.

God is certainly big enough. But perhaps there is another question which now occurs. Listen to Psalm 8.3-4 "When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?"

Is God small enough?

If you want to know about the precision of the small things of creation, we now have the ability to do that, too. We can look at the molecular world and even inside the atom at the sub-atomic world. Here there is just as much glory, beauty, precision, and structure as in the cosmos.

And then there is the living world and the miracle of life which exists is such remarkable variation on planet earth alone. Scientists now estimate conservatively that there are well over 10 million animal species on earth. "In the top inch of forest soil, biologists found an average of 1,356 living creatures … including 865 mites, 265 springtails, 22 millipedes, 29 adult beetles and various numbers of twelve other forms. … Had an estimate also been made of the microscopic populations, it might have ranged up to two billion bacteria and many millions of fungi, protozoa, and algae—in a mere teaspoonful of soil." [Elisabeth Achtemeier, Nature, God and Pulpit.]

Do you realize that it only takes 13 different kinds of atoms to make up the most essential molecules of life. But some of these molecules are amazingly complex. The molecule, for example, that makes blood red consists of over 2,300 atoms all strung together with unbelievable precision—just to make one molecule. 

Is God small enough? Yes. But is he personal enough to care about us? In the same chapter of Isaiah, the prophet answers this question by saying (40.11): "He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep."

Jesus frequently looks to creation to answer the same kind of question. Listen to Matthew 6.26-30: "Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?"

God reflected on creation as it proceeded, and seven times in the short creation narrative of Genesis 1 he says: "It is good!" "It is very good!" Make no mistake about it. Every molecule, every rock, every plant, every beating heart—is very good.

The Crown of Creation: Humanity

And the crown of God’s creation is humankind. God created people, male and female. They had something that nothing else in creation had. They were marked by God’s "image"—his likeness. They had characteristics which gave them a family resemblance to God himself. It wasn’t the shape of their noses or the color of their eyes. But it was the shape of their very essence—the shape of their characters or their souls. People were created full of love, full of creativity, full of freedom and willfulness. We were created for relationship, for creative pursuits, and for meaningful decision-making. To this day, whenever we exercise our "god-likeness"—whenever we love deeply and sacrificially, whenever we create that which is beautiful and lasting and unique, whenever we make choices which underline the parts of our character which look like God and then take a courageous step—we feel so good about ourselves. And whenever we see others who do those things well, we immediately resonate somewhere deep inside and recognize that this is at least a little bit how things are supposed to be. 

God created us with great variety, too. We are diverse in our race and racial mixes, in our ethnicities and cultural backgrounds, in our temperaments and personalities, in our talents and gifts. "It is very good!"

I want to reflect briefly on four themes which are explicit in the stories of the Creator’s design in Genesis 1-2:

1. Glory/Worship – 

3. Dominion – 

Part of the orderliness of God’s intention in creation is described with the word "dominion." Humankind is to have dominion and dominion is about responsibility.

This has been a very misunderstood word in the history of biblical theology. Often it has been interpreted as God giving humanity the right to do whatever we want with the earth. But to say this denies the fundamental reality of all Creation which is that "The earth is the Lord’s along with everything in it." (Ps. 24) The earth is not ours, so whatever "dominion" means, it does not mean that there are no boundaries to what we can do. 

There are four words in the text connected with "dominion". Gen. 1.28 uses the words "fill" and "subdue". These are interconnected with the idea of being "image bearers" of God. Humanity here is given the responsibility to do what God is doing in creation, namely to continue the creative process ("to fill the earth") and to exercise godly control ("subdue"). Obviously both of these words can be readily misunderstood. One of the critical questions in our world today, for example, is about what level of population on the earth is "sustainable". If we took away the rampant absolute poverty in many parts of the world which is caused by war and politically sustained famine, are we yet approaching the limits of human sustainability on planet earth? The word "subdue" rightly means that the earth is to be utilized by humanity. It is to serve us.

This is also echoed in 2.15 where the man is put in the garden to "to till" it. "To till" the earth suggests that we do in fact have an important role in the management of the earth. Human beings are to utilize the resources of creation for our benefit—for food, for clothing, for shelter, and for the amenities of life.

But the final word is the most striking. We are to "keep" or to "guard" the garden. This is the same word that is used of the priests who are to "guard" the tabernacle and the holy things of God. In other words, to have dominion over the earth is to behave as God’s representatives. The earth is given to us as a gift. It is meant by God to serve our needs. And we are called by God to be good stewards with this gift and to guard it well. 

We are not to worship creation. But neither are we to assume that creation is simply to be used up by humanity. There is no greater basis to underline God’s call to us to be stewards of creation than these texts. And biblical Christians should be on the forefront of environmental concern. That’s why we have had a task force to work on the fine statement which will be distributed as you leave tonight, entitled "To Till and to Watch". Please read it. It’s good news, and full of great suggestions. And that’s why we are joining World Vision and the Christian Environmental Association in inaugurating a new summer academic program for students called "The Global Education Institute" which will focus internationally on issues of sustainable development and the poor. Creation care is not optional; it is an integral part of what it means to bear the image of the Creator and it is a vital part of our on-going discipleship.

Thank God for our created world! We are distinctly sub-biblical people if we have the attitude that God has given us the world and we can do anything we want to it without accountability to God himself. OR the attitude that "this world is not our home, so it doesn’t matter if we trash it." 

An interesting footnote in all of this for me is that the couple in the man was not only told to till the earth and guard it, but he was given the task of naming the animals. His work was that of a farmer, a priest, and a scientist all in one. The God of creation encourages not only our involvement in the fabric of the physical world, but also our creating in words, and ultimately music, art, ideas and so forth. And it’s all a part of God’s call. Life is an integrated whole, full of worship, work, rest, and relationship—and that’s the way it should be for us as well.

4. Community – 

Everything in creation made sense because it was in right relationship with everything else. God planned and ordered it that way.

There was a right relationship between God and creation. Everything reflected his goodness, his majesty, and his character.

There was a right relationship between God and people. There was freedom and love and joy. People knew who they were, because they knew whose there were. There were no identity problems. No meaning, or purpose, or security problems.

There was a right relationship between people. There was openness, vulnerability, love, harmony, and understanding.

There was a right relationship between people and the rest of creation. Needs were met. Meaningful work, discovery, and creativity were natural and fulfilling parts of life. And humanity had the role of joining God in guarding this wonderful creation.

There is a biblical word for this kind of completeness. It is "Shalom" and it means complete, perfect, whole, at peace. Genesis 1.28, says that God blessed the first couple on the earth. A blessing is a promise of certainty. It is a precious mantel which is laid on humanity until it is removed by a curse. In this blessing God affirms humanity totally in the world in which they are placed. He blesses their creatureliness, their earthliness, and their humanity. It is surely shalom!

• Can you hear the call to shalom deep in your spirit still?
• Do you relish the moments when the glory of God’s creation overwhelms you with his majesty?
• Do you see the fantastic vestiges of God’s image still alive in those around you?
• Do you feel the ache for God’s full image to be restored to your life and in others?
• Do you hunger for all of the right relationships of creation to be visible in the world again?
• Do you ever reflect on the creation long enough to fall down in gratitude to the Creator, and to take steps toward his great creation purposes in the world?