August 31st

Creators

                And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so.  God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”  So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:24-27

             

            What does it mean to be created in the image of God?  Genesis one is all about God’s creative work.  He forms light and planets and stars and the elements and the continents.  He calls out all kinds of plants and animals and creepy, crawly things.  Then He decides to make something that reflects Him more accurately; He makes humankind in His own image.  Does that mean that God looks like me?  No.  Does that mean that He has 2 arms and 2 legs and a head and eyes?  No. 

            How are we created differently than the cattle or the snakes?  First, we have a soul.  We know that our physical form is merely a temporary shell that houses the true treasure of who we are.  Do animals have souls?  Several people have strong ideas on this, but at the end of the day, we don’t actually know. 

            Second, humans are born with an impulse to create, to join with their heavenly Father in making something that previously did not exist.  These creations can be practical things like houses or cars.  They can be artistic things like music and paintings and sculptures.  They can be technological things like cell phones and computers.  They are all ways that we take thoughts, ideas, passions and inspirations and translate them into reality.

            We are creators and I think that our likeness to God can be seen quite clearly as we are in the creation process.  Our kids are creators and some of the ways that they most reflect their Heavenly Father are seen through what they make and how they make it.

            We pulled the desk out of my son’s room in order to set him up with a work bench.  He loves tearing things apart and then building new creations from those raw materials, mumbling to himself as he hunches over his workbench.  He makes costumes.  He makes sculptures.  He makes inventions.  He makes traps to hide around his room when we go on vacation so that if a burglar tries to enter his room…he’ll get bopped on the head with a tin can and have paper clips fall all over him.  He will make origami.  He will make sculptures at school and has even written and colored a 150 page graphic novel.  He will dive into projects for hours at a time, working with patience and attention to detail that his normal life does not get access to.  He is proud to share some of his work, very secretive with other pieces.  But he is always building.

            I think God, too, is always building…always creating something new.  His work did not stop with Genesis 1.  He is constantly making new things, sometimes large and sometimes small.  He sends us new opportunities.  He provides us new friends and communities.  He shows us skills and passions that we did not even know that we had.  He gives us new ways that our hearts and minds can grow.  I imagine God at His heavenly workbench, deeply attentive and mumbling to himself as he builds…

            Just like my son.

           

A moment to reflect:

What new things has God created for you and your life?