Rediscovering the Wonder of Creation

How do we rediscover the wonder of Creation? We remember. We remember how absolutely incredible the Creation account is, we remember the magnitude of our God’s majesty, and we remember that He is always worthy of our praise.

Have you ever really pondered the Creation account? Have you tried to picture it in your mind? Can you imagine all the light, the color, the awakening of life? Recently, I was meditating on the story of Creation and I was overcome with a new sense of amazement that was both beautiful and very much welcome. See, if your story is anything like mine and you were raised in the church, then from your earliest years, you were likely exposed to the story of Creation. Since it’s one of the first lessons we’re taught, it’s also one that we’ve heard repeatedly.

This repetition has a tendency to make the story of the birth of all life mundane and dry. And before we know it, we’ve lost our sense of wonder and awe. I know I’ve been guilty of it and surely I’m not alone. But how can we become apathetic to this miraculous event? In all reality, this story, this true account of the beginning of all things is anything but mundane. It’s breathtaking, awe-inspiring, and love-inducing and there is so much we can glean from it.

In fact, I believe there are innumerable truths we can learn from the story of Creation and I’d like to share four of them with you now.

The wonder of Creation: “This story, this true account of the beginning of all things is anything but mundane.”

1. God was fully present and fully invested in Creation.

If I’m being honest, until recently I never gave much thought as to who was involved in the creation process. I knew God was obviously involved, but beyond that I hadn’t spent any time considering it. However, when we read Genesis 1:1-2 and John 1:1-5, we see that all three Persons of the Godhead were present and active during Creation: The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters of the formless earth, the Father was speaking everything into existence, and the Son was the Word through whom everything was created.

Do you see the significance? God brought all of himself and actively immersed himself—in totality—during Creation. He was so invested that he directed all of his attention, His Person, and His love into forming life.

The wonder of Creation: “God was so invested that He directed all of His attention, His person, and His love into forming life.”

2. God was intentional with Creation.

God is all-powerful, almighty, and all-knowing. Nothing escapes Him, and nothing is too difficult for Him. Knowing this, it stands to reason that He could have made the entirety of creation with a mere thought or even with a fraction of a thought and been done with it, but He didn’t. Instead, He spent days creating all of life, “according to its kind.” Can’t you just picture the sights and sounds? The pulse of new life? Surely, it was like a symphony with Yahweh as both the Composer and Conductor! The Master Artist took time and care, ensuring that each detail of His masterpiece was completed to His satisfaction.

The wonder of Creation: “Surely, Creation was like a symphony with Yahweh as both the Composer and Conductor!”

3. God is unfathomably brilliant.

Like the good Father that He is, the Lord made sure to lay out boundaries for all He created; He didn’t leave anything to chance. He traced out the dimensions of the earth, instructed the sun how to shine, dictated the laws of gravity, hemmed in the seas, beckoned forth vegetation, created man out of dust, and infinitely more!

Only our Lord and King is capable of brilliance of that magnitude. As I ponder this, I can’t help but wonder if He whispered to vegetation, “Come alive” or to the wind, “Awaken.” God gives us some insight into His genius in Job 38 when He reminds Job of the magnitude of His power and ability—how He wrote the laws of nature and oversees all. What an incredible God we serve!

The wonder of Creation: “Only our Lord and King is capable of brilliance of that magnitude.”

4. The Gospel begins with Creation.

I used to think that the Gospel story began with Jesus’ death on the cross; however, that’s not the case. The Gospel story actually starts at the dawn of Creation. You see, God knew that man (and woman) and subsequently all of creation would become affected by sin right from the start. Although it wasn’t what He intended for His children, He knew that beginning with the first two (Adam and Eve), mankind would be in a constant struggle with our sinful natures.

He also knew that because He is holy, the only way that His children could ever be reconciled to Him was not through the blood of animal sacrifice, but only through the blood of His perfect Son. And yet He created life anyway, because He wanted to share the perfect and complete love He has with the Son and the Spirit with His children. Like king David, we can’t help but sing, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Ps 8:9)

The wonder of Creation: “The Gospel story starts at the dawn of Creation.”

So what do we do when we hear the story of Creation for the dozenth or even the hundredth time? We remember. We remember how absolutely incredible the Creation account is, we remember the magnitude of our God’s majesty, and we remember that He is always worthy of our praise.

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Rev. 4:11)