Hennie Symington

The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment: he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He makes the winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. Psalm 104:2-4

Someone once wrote that creation could be interpreted as a sign of God’s yearning. In human terms it means that the act of creation was prompted by God’s love, for what other way is there to express love, if not towards an object of that love? In the absence of such an object, God made heaven and earth and all that live upon it, so that He could pour out his love on creation and his glory could be revealed.

How did God make or create the earth?

We don’t know and will probably never solve the riddle of creating “something” from “nothing” (ex nihilo). In Psalm 33:9 we are given the Biblical explanation of creation: “For he spoke, and it came to be…” The Bible is not a scientific manual; it merely tells us in ways that we can understand, that creation occurred and that we should accept it in faith. It is important to understand that creation itself is not holy or godly; it is not part of God’s being. It is the work of his hands and must be respected as such.

It is important to note that creation was not the work of God the Father alone. God acted as the Trinity, and within creation it is as if the Father took the initiative, whereas the Son stepped forward in the redemption while the Spirit is active in sanctification. God created heaven and earth, and then mankind. He saw that it was good and lacked nothing.

Prayer: God, you not only created us as objects of your love, but gave us a spirit that could respond and know you as the Creator. We are blessed indeed. Amen