“Let there be flowers!”

Scripture:  “Then God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with seed  in them, on the earth; and it was so.'”  Genesis 1:11

The fulfillment of this command produced complexity and beauty. Very likely there was an explosion of colors.  Imagine what plant life will look like when God frees it from sin, and you will begin to understand how it appeared in its original form.  Have you ever seen time‑lapsed photography of a flower blooming?  It seems to explode with life and splendor in the twinkling of an eye.

We might try to visualize billions, perhaps trillions of different flowers, plants, and trees coming into being in an instant, but it literally boggles the mind.  That each plant was also fully equipped with seeds for reproduction is  all surely far beyond our grasp.  We cannot comprehend it, to be sure, but we can catch a glimpse of how great was the Gardener.

“Let there be light!”

God spoke, and it was so.  Gabriel told Mary, “With God, nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37), or literally from the Greek “No word of God is without power.” What did these words sound like when He spoke them?  I don’t think He said them in English, or even in a language as we think of languages, but I bet that when He spoke it, there was a BIG BANG!!!

Jesus healed the sick in this same fashion. He merely spoke, “Be healed” and all were healed. He cast out devils with His word (Matthew 8:16).

The Book of Job seems to suggest that the angels were watching God’s creative activity with interest and were praising Him with great joy (Job 38:6‑7).  Note the simplicity of this verse.  There is no build‑up, no committee meeting, no magic words, no incantations.  There was total darkness and blackness, and then God spoke simply and directly, “Let there be light.”  And there was light, and it was good.

How awesome is God?

The Spiral Galaxy

Here’s a link to a study of the stars by Harvard astrophysicist Charlie Conroy.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/01/number-of-stars-in-universe_n_790563.html

According to Dr. Conroy, there are an estimated 300 sextillion stars, twice more than previously thought. However many there are, God created them all  from nothing “by the breath of His mouth” (Psalm 33:6), and He knows them all by name (Psalm 147:4). Prof. Conroy notes that this mind-boggling estimate (Don’t think they actually counted them all) is the same as “the number of all cells in every human being alive.” He adds that “it’s kind of a funny coincidence.”

But that’s not how God created all of us. He began with an original pair (even science sometimes refers to the first humans as “Adam and Eve”). He created them with the power to reproduce, and we’re all descended from the first couple because He programmed them to reproduce their “seed” and did the same for their descendants and their descendants, etc. We have the ability to pass along coded genetic information that in 9 months or so produces a fully formed human being with billions of cells, all cooperating in the formation of a unique person.

Don’t forget the molecules and cells and other systems, a sublime machine of which I am an occupant.

The human body is awe-inspiring, with molecular machines busily assembling and organizing genetic codes, cellular machines and programs that are running non-stop, all of which make up organs and systems. My biological programs keep me running, many of which are operating 24-7, my heart, my brain, and other incomprehensible organs. (We may think we’re pretty smart, but we really don’t understand how the brain works or why it should.)

Of course, sin entered the world and nullified the miracle of creation by introducing “entropy,” a scientific term that refers to an inevitable breakdown and deterioration of all molecular and biological programs and systems (from order to disorder). The result? The eventual death of everything now living. Not even science disputes that death is universal.

Solution? The Creator took on human flesh and experienced death and by the power of the Eternal Spirit overcame death, never to die again. This means that our bodies lack the power to renew their molecular structure and thus live forever. We will die and decay, but how much more our souls (which no one can see under a microscope)?

Yet when we are born of that eternal Spirit, we are given the same power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead. His Spirit resides in us and makes us heirs to eternal life, allowed to enter the Celestial City and eat of the “Tree of Life,” which Adam and Eve were denied. We will drink from the River of eternal renewal. For this reason, death has no power over us.

I ask again, how awesome is God?

He Rests (Really?)

“That was fun!” God said, “Now it’s time to sit back and enjoy it!” (Jan Brueghel, the Younger, 1601-1678)

“And on the seventh day God completed His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.”  Genesis 2:2.

In the creation story, we read about unimaginable power, an explosion of everything-from-nothing activity that our minds cannot possibly grasp. In the infinite vastness of space, a dazzling array of stars and planets, along with all life, micro and macro, come into existence, full of life energy, It makes me tired just thinking about it.

Didn’t God need to rest after all that? No, He did not, at least not as we do when we are tired. Just because it pleased Him, the Lord took the creation of all that now exists one step at a time. He performed each step deliberately, majestically, and in a definite order. God seemed to enjoy each step, but He did not rest until the work of creation was done.

But did He really rest? Only from the creative activity. Having finished creation, He’s been working on Redemption for more than a few thousand years. Jesus said: “My Father is always working, and so am I” (John 5:17). In addition to working in our lives, He’s also preparing us mansions (John 14) and a City (Revelation 21-22) so that we can enter into His “rest” (Hebrews 4) and get in on some of the fun that He’s having. We know that God never sleeps, but does He ever really rest? Why would He want to rest if He doesn’t need to? Why should He rest if He’s having fun opening up His treasures and fellowshipping with His children?

GOD IS NOT DEAD! HE’S NOT EVEN TIRED!

Dust + the breath of God = a living soul

May not be strictly biblical, but it is a pretty cool picture

Michelangelo’s way cool version

“Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed  into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”  Genesis 2:7.

All things were created by God out of nothing, with one exception:  Man.  Man was special in that he was “formed” from the dust of the ground, not spoken into existence. With the discovery of DNA, such a notion doesn’t seem quite so far-fetched (nor the idea that Eve was formed from a place in Adam’s side). When God breathed into the chemical Adam body, it wasn’t just oxygen. It was a life-giving wind, powerful and mystical,  suggesting a process far beyond our ability to comprehend. Once created, Adam and Eve were further empowered to reproduce other human beings, as we have done to this very day.

Our “soul” is the mysterious spark or fire of life and sense of being that He has infused deep within us.  We cannot see it or define it or measure it, but we cannot live without it; it distinguishes us from dirt.  We are smart, self-aware, and willful. Our bodies are self-repairing and self-regulating to a degree that exceeds our own intelligence and understanding. I don’t understand my autonomic nervous system, but it keeps me alive. I don’t understand how or why my brain works, but I think with it. Scientists and writers have imagined almost-human robots and androids. But who can visualize or create a soul?  Only God. That being true, what does it tell you about who God is?