On Creation

Have you ever wondered about that book of Genesis in the Bible? It seems to pack so much history into so few words. If you ask me, it leaves a lot to the imagination. Moreover, I'm convinced that leaving anything truthful to the imagination of mankind is a dangerous thing to do. Why would God do that?

The good book says that God created man in His own image. What does that mean? When people read that, do they have any concept of how that plays out? I don't think so. If they did, I doubt we'd be having this ongoing debates about evolution versus creation. Maybe I'm naive, but it all seems so simple to me.

Nowhere in the Bible do we ever see God in any physical form unless it was a supernatural one --- beyond humanity. Jesus was of course the exception. But for all of the years before He showed up, God was only in the spiritual realm. Even since Jesus' time on earth, God has remained limited to the spiritual realm. Yet when we read that God created man in His own image, do we think about that?

Do we consider ourselves --- first and foremost --- spiritual beings? I know ... that's a pretty rhetorical question. Even I struggle to grasp that concept. My flesh seems to confront me on a regular basis. It's pretty persistent too! But God's Word says that I am spiritual. It's not a personality trait or a favorite past-time.

I heard someone describe someone else recently. She said of her friend, "Oh, you know Jane; she's very spiritual." What the heck does that mean? Is there anyone here who isn't very spiritual? If so, aren't they denying their own God-given identity, the very DNA of who they are?

I'm not arguing with mankind here. Frankly I want to have a chat with God about some things when I get to heaven. He promised we'd get to know everything. I intend to hold Him to that promise! "So God, this is a really great heaven you've got. And I'm certainly thrilled to be here. Eternity is going to really rock now that I'm here with You. But I do have some questions. There are some things I just don't quite comprehend. What's that? Okay? Well, for starters, in the beginning You made everything and then You made man in Your own image. You made us very spiritual. But as soon as sin entered into the picture, suddenly we have to live in --- and be constantly confronted by --- a very physical dimension! What's up with that? Theoretically speaking, if there hadn't been sin, could we have stayed in the spiritual realm? What would life have been like? How would the world have functioned with all of us only as spiritual beings? Is that how eternity now looks for us?"

Okay, I don't know if that's really how my first chat with God will go or not. But if we are spiritual beings, then punishing us by sending us out of the Garden of Eden and into the physical realm could have looked worse. If our bodies evolved from monkeys, then I guess I'm grateful that they didn't evolve from something worse. A donkey, for example. That would have been a difficult evolution to swallow!

The point is, whatever body God chose for me, and however He formed it are not really of any consequence. Frankly, they're not even worth discussing. But trying to comprehend this spiritual being that I am ... in the face of the physical being that I seem to be addicted to ... well that's quite another proposition.

"Lord, help me be who I am today. Help me focus on my true spiritual identity and not be so distracted by this physical form that seems to taunt me so. Let me focus on my spiritual form and learn to quit wasting so much focus on my physical form. However You made me, let me be me. Amen."