We Are Not the Pinnacle of Creation

This week I was faced with an idea that completely changed my perspective on the account of God's creation: mankind is not the pinnacle of it all.

I've continuously read and heard people say how God "saved the best for last" and created humans on day six. We were made in His image and are the crowning glory of His creation. That statement isn't entirely wrong- we are uniquely crafted in His image and were the last visible thing to be created. Day six, however, is not the end. 

I've often read through the creation account, thinking of the grandeur of it all. Everything about the universe, the earth, the continents, the animals, and then us. All of it spoke into being by God. Wow! Oh, and yeah, then on the seventh day God rested. That last part always felt like a bit of an anticlimax to me, a tidbit tacked on at the end of this amazing piece of history. If nothing else, it was good reminder that after a long week at work, I am entitled to a break, too. I always read it as if God's work ended on the evening of the sixth day. It didn't.

The seventh day dawned, and then God finished his work. It was not declared done on the sixth day because He had one last thing to do: He created the seventh day, which He set apart as holy. He was satisfied in His work and rested. The culmination of the entire creation account does not end with us. It ends with God being satisfied in what He has done and resting in nothing but Himself. The pinnacle of creation is not us coming into being, but His rest. 

It makes so much sense. Isn't that what we as Christians are always striving towards? The end when we can finally and fully rest in Him in heaven? It never boils down to us in the end. It always has been Him, and it always will be about Him.

"And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation." - Genesis 1:31-2:1-3

We've Been Lied To.

We live in a time when it feels like every possibility is at our fingertips. Disney tells us if we can dream it, we can achieve it. The job culture tells us if we buckle down and learn, work hard, and make the right friends we can be successful. Popular authors and pep talk speakers tell us that we can change the world. Positive thinking gurus tell us if we just block out negative thoughts and attitudes, all will go right in our lives.

In short: there is always something that you can do to change your situation for the better.

Now, forgive me for sounding all "bah, humbug!" for a second, but I disagree.

While in a lot of situations we do have the ability to influence the outcome, we don't have quite as much power as we've been taught to believe.

We can't force the weather to be perfect for that outdoor wedding. We can't obliterate chronic illness. We can't help it when the company suddenly can't afford half their staff and must lay people off. We can't stop the drunk driver who hits us out of nowhere. Heck, we can't even fully control if our night of sleep is any good.

I know there are a lot of things we are capable influencing, but I also know that there are a lot of things that are completely out of our control, no matter how far ahead we plan and how hard we try. Sometimes, literally the only thing we can do is pray. That's hard. It hurts to know I can't always help what's going on. It's difficult sometimes to accept that we lack any power and then surrender the situation to God. It's hard to realize that sometimes God's plans and timing don't line up with our ideals.

It is difficult to follow Philippians 4:6-7, which tells us "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Our Daily Provision

For the longest time, I had been obsessed with lists. Every single weekend I would write down all the things I needed to get done, including a long string of projects that I had in mind to do in the future, just in case I had time to work on anything related to them. The list was as big as my forearm, and at the end of my two days off, I would mentally berate myself for not having accomplished much. Hey, we are called to be good stewards of our time. I rationalized.

As time went on, I became more worn out and more stressed. Then I stumbled upon a piece of writing having to do with the Lord's prayer. It pointed out the part that says "give us each day our daily bread", expounding on the fact that it says daily. Not meals for a year, a month, or even a week. But simply sustenance for a day. Whether that means a meager serving of oatmeal or an extravagant feast, who can know- but we will be provided for.

Planning ahead can be important and useful, sure. But when it comes to our day-to-day life, one day's worth of provisions will carry us through to the next day, and then the next day's provisions will carry us to the one after that, and so on. We don't need to worry about accomplishing a million little things that are unnecessary for today. God will give us the strength and time necessary to do exactly what He intends us to do today, however much or little that is. 

Our job is to do what He equips us for with diligence, and trust Him when He allows distractions or down periods to hit. We can make all the lists we want, but in the end, He is sovereign over each day.



“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread,
4 and forgive us our sins,
    for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.”

- Luke 11:2-4

Intoxicated With Success

The photo above is from my little local county fair, specifically the photography department of which I am in charge of. Over the week of the event, I dealt with various frustrations while setting it up. The biggest of these frustrations was the skepticism from our county fair director, who almost always had some criticism for how I was arranging my area each time I encountered her. When all was said and done, however, it all was a huge success. My immediate thought afterwards? "Ha, in your face! I KNEW the little changes I made were improvements!"

A few weeks later, my pastor brought up Zechariah 10:7 - "The Ephraimites will become like warriors, and their hearts will be glad as with wine. Their children will see it and be joyful; their hearts will rejoice in the LORD." and noted that "it is easy to become intoxicated with our own success" and that we ought to be rejoicing in the Lord for His provision and kindness. After church, my mind wandered back to the county fair. What did I do just a few weeks ago? I reveled in my own accomplishment, forgetting God entirely for the time. Thankfully, I had one of my best friends at my side, who reminded me several times throughout the week that "God is good" and "He is in control."

Looking back on it all, what have I learned?

I have learned two main things:

1.) It matters who your friends are. It truly is important to form close relationships with those who will glorify God and invite you to do the same when your mind isn't on the path to praise Him.

2.) I don't know about you, but I am very susceptible to becoming obsessed with my own success. I focus so hard on what I am doing that I forget what God is doing.

Let's remember who God is, what He can do, and try to keep close company with those who remind us of such truths in our weak moments.

Being Alone

Recently I was house-sitting for my neighbors and enjoying some much needed time on my own to study the Bible and re-charge after having had a friend visit for the prior two weeks. Just out of curiosity, I did a keyword search in the Bible for "alone". I had to admit, I was slightly surprised at my findings.

The American culture in which I live tends to idolize autonomy and encourages the "every man for himself" mentality. The Bible goes in the opposite direction. The very first mention of "alone" states "it is not good for man to be alone" (Genesis 2:18). That theme seems to hold true throughout scripture, as the only positive mentions of people being alone are in reference to times when someone is away from people in order to have intimate personal communion with God (see Daniel 10:7-8, Matthew 14:23) or in order to flee from that which God doesn't want, as Jesus did when the people wanted to force him to become their earthly king (John 16:15).

The only other times the word "alone" shows up as a positive thing is when the Bible talks about God. Unlike man, when God is alone, he is glorious, powerful, and doing great works (Isaiah 37:16, Psalm 136:4, Psalm 86:10, Nehemiah 9:6).

What does this mean for us? We ought to be mindful of how we use our time alone. Peace and rest are healthy, but let us remember that even those activities ought to be done in a way that causes us to love, honor, and be thankful towards God, rather than treating ourselves as idols.

Get Rich Quick Schemes

"A faithful man shall abound with blessings, but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent." - Proverbs 28:20

There are no working "get rich quick" schemes. Not financially, and not spiritually. We work hard for our wages; even the rich who don't appear to be working hard at the moment worked very hard to get to where they are. 

The same is true in spiritual life; you can't just say a quick prayer and then be good to go. You learn God's word, you study, you obey, you trust, and you pray. You stand up to challenges, you learn, you act on what you know, you use lots of time to learn and grow.

The difference between working for riches and the work it takes to grow our faith in the Lord is this:

In the end, financial life dies when we do. Spiritual life (or possible lack thereof) will cause us to go on forever, whether in Heaven or Hell. 

Better Than The Pharisees

"Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

-Luke 18:10-14

It's easy to look at this passage and roll our eyes at the Pharisee. “What a self absorbed jerk!” We might think. His lack of humility is clearly visible. We then turn to the tax collector in this parable, nodding and agreeing. We’ve all had the Sunday school lesson- we know we too are sinners. We close our Bibles smiling, thankful that we aren't like those people.

What’s wrong with this picture?

I don't know about you, but I’ve done it. I've heard of the sins of others and silently judged them and/or felt proud of myself for being such a “good” Christian. I've inwardly smiled as I felt immune to certain temptations. But is this really what we are called to? Is this what “newness of life” looks like- focusing on what's wrong with the people around us while self-righteously thinking we’re doing relatively decent?

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"

-Romans 3:23