Some movies make the creative choice of starting right in the middle of the action. It’s jarring when that happens, isn’t it? It’s the sound of screeching tires and high horsepower engines. It’s an angry conversation and hurt feelings. It’s some tragic, perhaps fatal, set of circumstances about to befall a character.
And as the audience, we’re left asking, “How did we get here?” We know this drama didn’t come out of nowhere. There must have been a series of events that brought us to this point. And, sure enough, a good movie won’t leave you in confusion. A flashback will take you back to the beginning and tell you how we got here.
As Christians, sometimes we start the story in the middle of the action and it can be just as jarring. We recognize that sin exists and that it’s twisted everything we experience in this world. But we can’t start our understanding of the world with that truth, otherwise we’ll end up with a distorted view of the world that God has made, whether it’s sex, money, power, or even our own selves. We’re better served by starting the story where God does – from the very beginning.
That’s what the Westminster Shorter Catechism does. Before talking about how sin wrecked the world and how you and I live in the ruins, it asks us to consider how God made the world.
Q. 9. What is the work of creation?
A. The work of creation is, God’s making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good.
Q. 10. How did God create man?
A. God created man male and female, after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, with dominion over the creatures.
Here’s a few takeaways from these two statements.
1. Creation is not an accident – The world as we know it did not come together randomly. It is the intentional and deliberate action of God, who brought it all together out of nothing. We don’t live in the chaos of chance, but in the care of God’s design.
2. Creation is an expression of God’s glory – Anything we’ve ever made is inspired by something else. Maybe we saw it on Instagram or sitting on the shelf in a friend’s garage. That’s not how God created the world. Every created thing was all his own idea! Just think about all the colors in the world. Every single one of them was his own idea. Every. Single. One.
3. Creation is good – Our understanding of sin can give Christians a low opinion of created things, but we must remember that God made it all good. Yes, sin has defaced the goodness of God’s creation but it can never totally destroy it. This has major implications that go way beyond a single blog post! If we’re going to think well, then we need to hold these two ideas of creation and the fall together. Because there is a goodness to creation, we can have confidence that God can restore this world – and that he will restore this world in Jesus.
4. Human life is precious – As good as all of creation is, it’s not all created equal. Human beings are the only thing in all creation said to be made in God’s own image. There is something wonderful and precious about human beings, leading Christians like C.S. Lewis to assert that none of us have ever met a “mere mortal.” Our interactions with other people should be shaped by the belief that we are dealing with the crowning jewel of God’s good creation.
The doctrine of creation is about so much more than the length of days. It’s about God’s wonderful and glorious work. Reflecting on how the world was made to be and on the reality of how it is now should fill us with longing and hope for the world that will one day be.