Articles
Creator
“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world”
Psalm 19:1ff
Of all the words that Solomon could have chosen to describe our relationship to God in his final discourse on life in Ecclesiastes 12:1, is it not interesting that he chose Creator? “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,” he says, before explaining the dark days that come upon us all. Life is brief, passing quickly, and the creation provides no shortage of illustrations (Hosea 13:3, Psalm 39:5, James 4:14). Isaiah notes, “All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:6-8). I think it is fitting that we have been so designed that we get to see so many cycles pass during a typical lifetime. We get to see a conveyor belt of seasons change, of pets die, of loved one pass away, of sunrises and sunsets. It is almost as if God has designed the world so that the inevitability of death is the most unavoidable motif. There is nowhere to hide from its penetrating power.
When seeking words of reassurance, Christ looked no further than the creation, proclaiming that He cares for us even more than He does the birds and the flowers (Matthew 6:25-32). These things die also, but not before they have been fed and clothed by their Creator. If God has cared so much about such small lives, how much more shall He care for us? If God has given purpose and meaning to the ants in the ground and the birds of the air, how much greater is the point behind our lives! We remember our Creator in the days of our youth because we know that those days do not last forever. We are dying, every one of us, as each moment passes. I can either accept this and seek God, or remain obstinate and refuse to acknowledge His ways. Interestingly, the creation teaches us one more thing along these lines: that it is best to obey God. Notice the way Jeremiah 8:4-7 puts it. The example of the birds shames people who refuse to obey God. The birds know it is best to migrate in the proper season, to obey their Creator in the simple matters of life. But we can be so stubborn, so self-willed! I must accept that this is my Father’s world, and I am created in His image. I must be willing to learn from the declaration of the heavens and embrace God’s truth in every corner of this universe.
