The Word of Creation

The Word of Creation

Home Church Devotional 9/9/2020

These devotionals were written during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic when area churches were not allowed to meet for fear of spreading the coronavirus. They were used in place of a full sermon as my family and I gathered for worship and communion.

“All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”                                                                                                                                         John 1:3 (NASB)

There are many was to create in our world today. We can create chaos with those around us by the use of certain words and actions; we can create a peaceful atmosphere in much the same way. We can create a new product out of other products or parts already in existence and we can create separation or space between people and things by increased distance or space. In fact, the very definition of create is to bring something into existence or to cause something to happen as a result of one’s actions. That pretty much sums up what we just learned. But John has his sights set on something different in our passage today.

When John says all things came into being, or were made, John is not just talking about the universe in its entirety, but rather, he is talking about every single detail, no matter how large or how small, but every detail of ALL THINGS! This includes all things in the physical or material world as well as the spiritual world and all things human or angelic. All things means all things…everything, nothing is left out. Jesus created all things out of nothing through the actions of His spoken word, the Word of Creation! Nothing existed BEFORE the Word created.

For us, to be apart from someone, means to be separated from each other at a specific distance in time and space. John has something different in mind however, as the Greek word he uses for apart means separated yes, but it also carries the meaning of bereaved. Bereaved means to be deprived of a close relation or friend through the death. Think about the implications of this thought for a moment. Jesus tells us in John 15:1-5 that He is the True Vine and we are the branches, APART from Him we can do nothing. Yes, this is the same Greek word used in our passage today. In a real sense, when we are apart from Jesus a death has been suffered.

This death is our death! There is the physical life that has no true meaning without Jesus and most assuredly our spiritual life dies when we are apart from the source of all we need. Throughout the Scriptures we see Jesus grieving, moved with sorrow or having compassion on the masses that follow Him. He sees them as lost sheep without a shepherd, they are apart from the one who can guide them safely through this journey on earth and provide entrance into the Kingdom of God. And yet, these same lost sheep, time and again turn from Him or seek to force Him to be something He is not. The bereavement is real, and it is Jesus who suffers as much, if not more so than we!

Jesus, the Word, is the creative agent who has created all things. And without Jesus, nothing, not one single thing, could exist. When God creates, He makes something out of nothing, and this includes you and I. Because we are created beings, there should be no room within us for pride. We exist only because God made us, we have gifts and talents because God gave them to us. With God we are unique and valuable, without Him we are nothing, because only He can create something from nothing. As a created being, we truly can do nothing without the One who sustains us, guides us, molds us and causes our growth into His likeness.

The greatness of Jesus is seen in His role as mediator of the observable universe. Because all things are made through Him, He is the one unifying principle at the heart of all things that exist. So, the question remains, is Jesus bereaved over you? Do you find yourself separated from the One who has given you life? Do you feel lost and alone, trying to find your way through a life that increasingly make little or no sense? Jesus, as the Word of Creation, is the answer. He alone has the power to create something from nothing. He alone has the power to reshape a life that seems lost and out of sorts. He alone speaks and the seas, the winds and the storms of life are clamed. Jesus looks upon you with compassion, the proverbial sheep without a shepherd and calls to you to follow Him, the one, unifying principle of the observable universe.

Amen and Amen.