Friday, January 16, 2009

Plantinga Chapter Two

I know it will be impossible to sum up the idea of creation in one blog, so I will focus on a few main points that I liked from Plantinga's second chapter.
What is often hard to fathom is the fact that God did not need to create us. However, it makes sense when you think about the trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in community together, so there is no need for a community to be made. God is not and never was lonely; the persons in the trinity love and glorify one another. Plantinga says "nothing internal or external to God compelled Him to create." To know that God did not create me out of necessity or accident makes His love so much more fulfilling. How wonderful it is to have a Father who made you out of pure love! "Creation is an act of imaginative love." What is even more astounding is that God loved us before we even existed. I don't know how many of you think the world was created in a literal six days, I"m not completely sure where I even stand in that argument, but thinking of creation always makes me think of this song by sleeping at last:

“You were a million years of work,”Said God and His angels, with needle and thread.They kissed your head and said,“You’re a good kid and you make us proud.So just give your best and the rest will come,And we’ll see you soon.”

To think that God spent years creating me, thinking about every detail, and rejoicing in His work when He was done creating me....It's just so hard to comprehend. I love the image of God looking down on me, saying "you make me proud."

The creation story tells us a lot about who God is. He graciously made room for something other than Himself to exist. With all the power God has, he chose to expand the realm of being and went to work creating. Because of His selfless love and great imagination we are able to enjoy sunsets, stars, oceans, mountains, kittens, etc...It's so easy to look at nature and think something is beautiful, but when you actually look at it and realize God created it, it's almost unbelievable. There is a song by mewithoutyou (actually it is a 3 part series) that is about seeing a spider and having it confirm his deepest beliefs. I do not think you can see the intricate details put into each and every being and not believe in God; even the smallest of creatures, spiders, ants, ladybugs, are His work.

I love when Plantinga says (in reference to the books in the Bible) "These highly poetic chapters do not teach us zoology but they do teach us something important. The chapters teach us that God loves creation. God celebrates creation. God even plays with his creation." He made every part of creation unique, unlike any other in and out of its species. Plantinga suggests that the created world is a stage not for humans but for God. This is a very humbling way to see the world. We often see this place as our own, as if we created it ourselves. Instead, we should be looking at every person, object, animal, as if we are looking at millions of pieces of God's glory. I pray to have eyes that can look at any aspect of creation and see that it is good, since God is completely and fully good.

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