Day 6 – creations
God is in charge of the earth. He is the Creator. He empowers
it. –WALLY ARMSTRONG
Allow me today to dispel a few myths. The Wright brothers did not
create the first airplane. Michelangelo did not create that famous sculpture of
King David. American scientists did not create the atomic bomb. Jim Henson did
not create The Muppets, and Steven Spielberg did not create the movie ET.
Ancient Egyptians did not create the pyramids, nor did the Greeks and Romans of
old create the Parthenon and Coliseum. In the world of fiction, Gepeto was not
the creator of Pinocchio, that mad scientist did not create Frankenstein, and
the men of Troy did not create a wooden horse.
Allow me also to make a few predictions. Today you will not create
one solitary thing, even if you set your mind to do just that. Tomorrow and the
next day will be no different. In fact, when you take your last breath on this
earth, you will have created nothing. Nor will have I. Fashion something? Yes!
Construct something? Indeed! Invent something? Of course! Create something?
Never!
To create something, you have to bring it into existence out of
nowhere, including all of the materials involved in construction. No creating
has been done if the component parts existed beforehand. That's why that
sculpture of King David was not Michelangelo’s creation. He used a large
rock or stone, already at hand, to fashion (not create) the statue. In
the same way, the ancients who built those seven architectural wonders used
materials already at their disposal and thus were not doing any creating.
The act of creating, therefore, involves bringing something from
nonexistence to existence. This is why theologians often use the Latin ex
nihilo ("out of nothing") to describe Creation. God took nothing
and made the universe appear. He alone is Creator. In fact, He is 100% Creator
and 0% creation. You and I are just the opposite―0% creator and 100% creation.
Does this make you feel small and dependent? Good, because that's
actually what you are. Does this make God seem great and self-sufficient? Good,
as well, for that's who He is. Does this seem to put you, Michelangelo, those
scientists, and everyone else in the world on the same level? Yes, indeed! We
all are creations of the one and only Creator. In the words of the psalmist, we
are His "workmanship."¹
These, then, are God’s first words to us as we stand before the
mirror in self-analysis: "Before you were, I AM; because I AM, you
are."
¹Ephesians 2:10
SELF-REFLECT
1.
Think of five things you are proud of in your
life.
2.
Thank God for His role in your accomplishments.
Wally
Armstrong and Jim Sheard, Playing the Game (Nashville: Countryman,
1998), 35.
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