Psalms 33:6-12 (NIV) 6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. 10 The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.
Part of the new way of thinking in our day is the belief that God does not cause things to happen. He did not create, and he does not intervene in the ways of the world today. Creation was an accident. It happened against overwhelming odds, which is cause to wonder, but not to worship. There is no purpose in life and no reason for our being here. What you see is what you get and all you need. Enough wealth, a good marriage, success in your work, and you have as much of heaven as you are ever going to know.
What is the Christian response to these beliefs? We believe God did create, and He created with a purpose in mind. And He still intervenes in the workings of our world in both mysterious and recognizable ways.
Ultimately our confidence rests not on the evidence of creation, but on God’s Son. His life and His ministry revealed that God had a purpose for the world, one that He called the kingdom of God. The Cross was the world’s no to the kingdom. Death was the world’s pronouncement on God’s purpose. The Resurrection was God’s yes to that kingdom, His living assertion that His purpose would be accomplished.
We believe God created. He created with a purpose, and that purpose is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth with Christ as head. This is our longing. This is our hope. And, when our hope is a matter of mind and heart, we see we become channels to make this hope come true.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope September 1, 1985
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell
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