The Most Creative One of All
We have four little boys. Our oldest is 7 and our youngest is 3. They all love building things out of Legos. One of the older boys showed me a dump trailer that he had built and it really did dump. The youngest one doesn’t always know what he is building, but he plays with his Legos even more than the bigger boys do. He also has a Duplo set with Thomas the Train characters that he is constantly modifying.
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The oldest also loves duct tape. He will ask me for scrap pieces of board that he will tape together. He just came into my office with a short chunk of 2x4 taped to a couple of other small boards and a metal clothes hanger bent into a strange shape. I was told that it was his rabbit trap. Animal lovers need not fear, I am confident that the rabbits that come near this trap will be quite safe- at least until he gets older and figures out a trap that will actually work.
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Our second son turns 6 this week. He also likes to build stuff and if you ask him what he wants to be when he grows up, he will tell you that he wants to be an engineer. He is the one that will crawl under stuff to look and see how it is built. He wants to be an engineer so that he can build things that no one has ever built before. One of his ideas is to build a ladder that will catch you when you fall.
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Our boys are quite creative. That is not unusual. Some people are creative mechanically- others musically, and some are skilled at drawing. There are even people that are creative with writing. I believe that creativity is part of the image of God found in human beings.
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As creative as we humans are, imagine the creativity of God. Our son wants to make things that no one has ever made before, but he wants to do it by putting together things that have already been made. God, however did not even have the earth when He started. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1).
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The fact that God was powerful enough to create the whole world should astound us, but He was also able to do it all by Himself. “Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and the one who formed you from the womb, "I, the LORD, am the maker of all things, Stretching out the heavens by Myself, And spreading out the earth all alone,” (Isaiah 44:24 NASB).
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As we consider that God made the world all by Himself, let us not forget that the Bible is clear that Jesus is the creator. “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created by Him and for Him.” (Colossians 1:16 NASB) This shows us that Jesus is both creative and that He is God.
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Let us consider that even after the earth was created by God, it still needed to be shaped and molded into something even more creative. “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2)
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Though God has finished creating the elements that make up the earth and those in it, He has not given up His creative process of changing the landscapes with beauty. Consider the formation of a canyon as water flows, or just look at the beauty of the snow drifts after a winter storm, or look at a brilliant sunset as God puts the clouds in just the right spot to catch just the right light. Our God is not only the great creator of the universe, He is the most magnificent artist of all time.
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Friday, January 9, 2015
Racism, Bias, & Christianity
On August 9th of 2014 in Ferguson, MO, a young man named Michael Brown was shot by another young man- a police officer named Darren Wilson. Michael died as a result of the encounter. This incident was more than just a passing news story though. Another component was involved. The two young men, Michael and Darren, were of different ethnic backgrounds. Soon racial tensions across the United States were heightened even more than they had been before.
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The incident at Ferguson and the surrounding controversies were not the beginnings of racial tension in our country, they were just further evidence of its existence.
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Racism is not a new problem. As we read the New Testament, we see much racial tension. Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well is the encounter of a Jewish man with a Samaritan woman. As we look at the encounter we find that much of the tension has more to do with ideology than it has to do with race. She says, "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." (John 4:20 NASB).
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The “you people” comment is often used by racist people today as well. One of the difficulties with the whole discussion is that racism is not limited to one particular ethnic or ideological group.
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Racism can come in so many forms. Often there is a cultural, ideological, religious, or even political component. It is not uncommon for people to excuse racism as long as the racist has similar religious or political views. This brings in another component- bias. Bias is an unfair preference or dislike for something. It is very similar to racism.
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Racism is basically bias directed at ethnic heritage. Such bias is wrong whether it comes from the majority or minority of the population.
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Even when dealing with the leaders in the church, Paul warned Timothy, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.” (I Timothy 5:21 NASB)
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James also deals with the issue when he talks about wisdom from God. “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” (James 3:17) In the verses right before this statement, James warns about the wisdom that does not come from God and the damaging results. “But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.” (James 3:14-16)
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Much of today’s racism is rooted in bitterness, envy and strife. All races ought to judge others by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. Christians need to remember that we are all created in the image of God no matter what race we are; therefore, there should be no racial preferences. Consider Colossians 3:9-11 NASB) “Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him --a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.”
-
The incident at Ferguson and the surrounding controversies were not the beginnings of racial tension in our country, they were just further evidence of its existence.
-
Racism is not a new problem. As we read the New Testament, we see much racial tension. Jesus’ encounter with the woman at the well is the encounter of a Jewish man with a Samaritan woman. As we look at the encounter we find that much of the tension has more to do with ideology than it has to do with race. She says, "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." (John 4:20 NASB).
-
The “you people” comment is often used by racist people today as well. One of the difficulties with the whole discussion is that racism is not limited to one particular ethnic or ideological group.
-
Racism can come in so many forms. Often there is a cultural, ideological, religious, or even political component. It is not uncommon for people to excuse racism as long as the racist has similar religious or political views. This brings in another component- bias. Bias is an unfair preference or dislike for something. It is very similar to racism.
-
Racism is basically bias directed at ethnic heritage. Such bias is wrong whether it comes from the majority or minority of the population.
-
Even when dealing with the leaders in the church, Paul warned Timothy, “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of His chosen angels, to maintain these principles without bias, doing nothing in a spirit of partiality.” (I Timothy 5:21 NASB)
-
James also deals with the issue when he talks about wisdom from God. “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.” (James 3:17) In the verses right before this statement, James warns about the wisdom that does not come from God and the damaging results. “But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.” (James 3:14-16)
-
Much of today’s racism is rooted in bitterness, envy and strife. All races ought to judge others by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. Christians need to remember that we are all created in the image of God no matter what race we are; therefore, there should be no racial preferences. Consider Colossians 3:9-11 NASB) “Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him --a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.”
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