January 04, 2016

The Creator and His Creation

Genesis 1:1-31

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

—  Genesis 1:31

Have you ever thought about what goes into creativity? Listen to a really great song: thought-provoking words, unforgettable melody, amazing instrumental accompaniment, sung by someone with a beautiful voice. I have my favorites, and I’m sure you do too.

Next, try to write a song. Sit at a piano and plunk away. Strum a guitar. Grab a piece of paper and write down some lyrics. It’s a rare person who’ll come up with anything halfway worthwhile, something that is not painfully embarrassing to listen to. Thinking up something from nothing, something good, something beautiful, is not easy!

God is the Creator. God’s creativity is astounding. Trying our own hand at being creative can help us not to take God’s creativity for granted. Even a man and a woman’s ability to bring new life into the world is a gift from God, for “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number.’” It’s closest to God’s acts of creation, the wonder of which we sense when we hold a newborn baby in our arms. 

Materialistic thinkers say that there was no need for a Creator, that all the wonders around us came into being simply by the natural processes of physics and chemistry. Try saying that about the sculptures of Michelangelo!

O Lord, your creativity is marvelous and matchless. Help us never to lose the sense of wonder we feel when we hold a newborn in our arms, or when we see the beauties of your creation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

About the author — George Young

George Young, a native New Yorker, worked as a taxi driver in New York City before studying to become a pastor. Then he, his wife Ruth, and their children were missionaries for many years in northeastern Japan. They worked with ministers and believers from the Reformed Church in Japan to spread the good news of salvation in Christ and ­establish new churches. Now George and Ruth are retired and live in the northeastern United States, nearer to their children and grandchildren.

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