He is the Creator
By Shauna Leis
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light… Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.’”
Genesis 1:1-3, 11
Oh, I do so love the season of spring. It is probably my favorite season of the year, hands down. It reminds me over and over about the role of God as our Creator, Elohim, as I watch nature unfold into the symphonies God orchestrates.
Watching the seeds of spring turn into the beautiful plants that we pull off vegetables and cut for flowers shows me that our Creator is still in the creating business. As I have told many of you before in previous devotions, I love to garden. One of the things that I love best, especially with my kids, is to plant seeds and watch them go through all of their different phases. We start with a dead, dry seed and dig a hole. Tenderly, we place the dead seed into the ground and cover it lightly with soil, chock full of nutrients that the sweet seed needs to survive. Then we go through our watering phases and watching over the little sprouts that begin to pop up through the soil, keeping away the animals or other dangers that might destroy the new creation. Finally after weeks and weeks of effort and pain-staking care, the plants are mature and we have beautiful flowers or wonderful vegetables to enjoy for the rest of the season.
Contrast all of this with our creation story above. God did not have to go through all of the effort that we did to get His vegetation. All He had to do was speak it and it happened. Oh, I would not be honest if I did not go ahead and admit to you now that yes, I sometimes wish that I had that same affect on my plants; however, my speaking to them seems to do nothing at all to aid in their growth or production! Honestly, I do not think they even acknowledge my existence. However, the creation did acknowledge Elohim, Creator God, when He spoke all that we know and understand into existence. Did you notice that He has always been? Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God….” No other beings or items are mentioned, only God. No one said, “In the beginning, God was created.” Nope, in the beginning God created. He has always been and will always just be!
Also, please do not neglect to notice the role of the other two forces behind the Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit was hovering over the waters just waiting to be deployed to do the will of the Father, much like He is today. When Jesus was taken up into Heaven in Acts 1:8, He told the disciples “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you…” The Holy Spirit waits for you and me to ask Him to dwell in us by acknowledging Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
Finally we experience the role of our precious Savior during Creation. Did you notice how creation took place back in Genesis? “In the beginning…” John 1:1 parallels this exactly with, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This Word that John is speaking of is none other than Jesus Christ our Savior. John 1:14 indicates that, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” God sent us Jesus to be the Word and to dwell among us as a human – He was fully human and fully divine. Jesus spoke God’s Words to us in His parables, stories, and Scriptures. Just like in Genesis during the creation story, Jesus was the Word. Genesis 1:3 indicates that “God said…” God spoke it and it happened. Each member of the Holy Trinity had His specific role for this amazing set of events - God thought it, Jesus said it, and the Holy Spirit carried it all out.
Another role for Jesus is that He is also over all creation. Colossians 1:15 says, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” This verse does not mean that Jesus was “created”, as you have seen in the other verses that Jesus was in charge of the Words during creation. He was there during creation, not an outcome. What it does mean is that Jesus has supremacy over all creation. Make no mistake here, my sweet friend, – Jesus is in charge!
As you witness spring bursting forth this year, I pray that this visual of creation will be emblazoned upon your heart and mind. May it remind you daily Who is ultimately in charge of all creation and that we should not take any of it for granted.
Pray with me: Elohim, God of all creation, we praise You. Your creation is just so incredibly amazing – and changes every single day. We stand in awe of You that You are in control of it all since we have trouble controlling even the smallest of all details in our own lives. We pray today that watching all of the colors of spring, flowers in full bloom, vegetables bursting forth, and especially the miracle of life, will remind us of Your power – the power to create. We love You so much and want to honor You with all that is in us, especially since we are one of Your creations. Your love for us is more than we could ever deserve. May we never take for granted all that being a part of Your creation means to us. All of this we pray in the name of Jesus, our Savior and Lord!