Their World

There are multiple creation stories in the Bible. Most are familiar with Genesis 1 and 2, but Job 38-39 and Psalm 104 also speak of God's creative activity. 

Ps 104 has God setting the "earth on its foundations" and establishing boundaries for the mighty waters (cf. Gen 1.2). Water was a symbol of chaos in the ancient world and the Bible makes very clear that God controls all such forces. 

Foundations of the earth are also mentioned in Job's references to creation (Jb 38-39; cf. Is 48.13; Hb 1.10).  When we investigate these passages on their own turf, without projecting our understanding of the cosmos on them, we get an image of the ancient world that looks like the picture below:

You can see in the image the "highest heavens" and the "waters above heaven" (Ps 148.4). Notice the dome of Gen 1.6-8, "Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters that separate waters from the waters."

When we look at this image we see a world very different than our own. Which makes perfect sense because the Bible was not written "to us" but is written "for us." 

We recognize that this means that to get the most out of our Bible reading, we must study the world of the Bible. In doing this, we see that God spoke to people according to their understanding of the world. 

This is yet another example of God meeting us right where we are; of him being intimately concerned with our lives and wanting each of us to know him in a way we can comprehend.

This Is Spiritual

An exploration of God's good world. This is my kind of worship.

The World Outside Ourselves

The heavens are telling the glory of God (Ps 19.1)....but what if we can't see them?

Spending time in nature grounds me. Witnessing the grandeur of the cosmos gives me perspective. Recognizing the beauty of creation gives me hope. 

A nurse I know who takes care of people as they near the end of their lives, always asks her patients whether or not they gardened. An odd question, but after years of collecting peoples answers, she has noticed a definitive difference between both the physical presentation, and the emotional attitude of people in relation to their answer. 

Those who did garden, complained less, were generally healthier, and seemed to have a perspective that the world did not revolve around them. Those who didn't garden were often grumpy, sickly, and appeared years older than they actually were. 

We were created to spend time in creation (Gen 1.28), gaining perspective and tapping into the life giving harmony that comes from acknowledging that we are not the center of the universe.

Reclaim Your World

The Bible starts with a poem,  where line after line, God rhythmically creates a good world, and sets human beings, both male and female, at the pinnacle of his efforts.

We were made to enjoy the good word and participate with God, and the rest of creation, as co-creators.

This concept of the world being an inherently good place, blurs the arbitrary line between the secular and the sacred. The spark of God is everywhere in creation, and at no time more potently in human form, than in Christ, who spent his life reclaiming creation; restoring people to full participation in the world; empowering people to be most who they were to be.

In this way beauty and truth are everywhere. This is why we are  awestruck by music we hear, or art we see, or incredible physical feats we witness. We are seeing the spark of God that indwells all creation:

Unfortunately, some Christians historically have swung the pendulum in the opposite direction, shunning the things of "this world" and have adopted more ascetic values. 

But such practices do not come from a balanced perspective on life. Paul ran into this in 1 Tim 4.4, and combats such thinking when he writes, "For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected." 

This isn't to say we embrace everything. The world is full of truth and beauty, but it has also been marred by our inability to follow the plot. We have been unfaithful co-creators and have brought things into creation that do not bring life and completeness.

So we take very seriously the task to discern what is good and wholesome. We reclaim the things of our world that are beautiful and awe inspiring, as testimony to what the harmonious relationship between God and humanity is supposed to look like.