Lifethrumylense

This post is about God and creation, so, here are a few photos of things and places that remind of our intelligent Creator.

Happy New Year (insert celebration emojis). At the start of the year, I decided to switch up my approach to my “All 66” challenge. I felt like my initial approach lacked direction and I also got a little overwhelmed. I was spending so much time in the first couple of chapters in Genesis just analyzing. I may have even been over analyzing a lot of it but that was the English major part of me trying to read between the lines. I mean, anyone who has had to analyze a Rita Dove poem the night before you have to do a presentation would understand. So, I decided to follow a one-year Bible plan just to give myself a little more structure. I still find myself getting stuck in some places and trying to decipher hidden meanings and connections but I have been able to learn a few things that I thought I should share.

Genesis, to me, is one of the books where you see God’s personality the most. In the conversations He has with the people in the accounts and also through the context of the promises He made. At the very beginning of creation, God had our every need in mind. He didn’t only make sure that we had necessities like food but He also made sure that the earth would be a place we enjoyed. I think it’s so important to remember that God did this while knowing everything that would happen after. He knew every sin we would commit and all the times we would denounce His goodness but He still made sure we would be happy on earth.

This is highlighted even more after Adam and Eve sinned (Gen 3:21). God must have been so hurt by Adam and Eve but even in their sin and shame He was kind to them and clothed them. I also find God’s response to their sin very peculiar. God knew exactly what Adam and Eve had done and yet He still came to them and asked them to explain what had happened (Gen 3:9). I have a few theories as to why that was His response but the one that sticks out to me the most is that God values conversation with us. No matter what we’ve done it seems like He truly appreciates us coming to Him and actually talking with Him about it. He also, always gives us the opportunity to repent before His judgement and this changed my perspective of God quite a bit. I always imagined Him to be angry at us for our sin but this picture that is painted of Him through His response is quite the opposite. It’s like a parent comforting their child after they hurt themselves doing something they told them not to do. His response is a picture of sympathy and love, not of anger at all.

I realized through reading Genesis that maybe I don’t give others as much grace as I think I do. I found myself many times asking God, “Why did you allow them to do that?” “Why did you not punish them for that?” or “Why would they do that knowing what God had done for them already?” In Genesis 4, when Cain murders Abel, he is so convinced that somehow someone else would kill him. Possibly, because he had committed the first murder and was now aware of what others were capable of but either way, God decided to protect him. I initially felt like the justified punishment for killing his brother should have been death also but thankfully God doesn’t think like I do. Even after Cain sinned so greatly, God protected him from the same harm he had inflicted on his brother. God gave Him the opportunity to live a better life, which is a true display of forgiveness and mercy. While Cain was punished for what he did to his brother, he was also given a second chance at life.

Another example of God’s character is His promise to Abraham and his descendants. To be honest, I am still trying find it in my heart to be sympathetic to Abraham and Sarah. Despite my lack of understanding of their responses to their situation, I can see how God displayed His kindness in the midst of their disobedience. God promised Abraham that He would bless him and his descendants tremendously and instead of being patient, Abraham and Sarah decided to take matters into their own hands on multiple occasions (Gen 12:7, 13:14-17, 16:1-3). As God does, He rescued them and protected them from harm despite the fact that they were disobedient and impatient. What stood out the most to me was that God didn’t only make promises of wealth and comfort to Abraham but also his descendants, knowing that for a large part of their lives they wouldn’t have a relationship with Him. When Jacob fled from Esau after stealing his blessing and birthright, God continued to warn him of danger and bless him with wealth (Gen 24:29-34, 26:2-5, 26:24-24, chpt27). Jacob was a manipulative thief and liar but God still gave Him grace and made him promises knowing his character and that initially he would not live a Godly life. Only after God appears to him and promises to uphold the covenant that was made with Abraham, does Jacob decide to build a relationship with God (Gen 28:20-21). Again, God knew all of this but He still decided to bless them regardless of their sin.

This same concept is present when Jesus chose his disciples (Matt 10:2-4). Jesus knew how greatly Judas would betray Him and He also knew that Peter would deny knowing Him out of fear. Yet they were chosen to be His followers and friends despite the fact that they were going to betray their Saviour. I’ve often wondered if God found our constant fear, despite Him being true to His word, to be annoying. I imagined Him on His heavenly throne sighing (very dramatically but gracefully) at our incessant questioning. Then I saw the way that God spoke to Abraham and I was reminded that God is so much gentler that I thought. When God revealed to Abraham that He was considering destroying Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham just like any of us would, questioned God about His plan (Gen 18:20-33). He asked God if the righteous people in the city would become collateral damage of the punishment for the evil. Abraham decided to get very specific with God as well asking, ‘If there was fifty innocent, would you kill them?’ God said no. Abraham asked again, ‘What about forty-five?’ God said no. Forty, thirty, twenty, ten? Abraham kept going and going and God answered him every time. He didn’t get annoyed or ask Abraham to stop bothering Him, He was so patient and gentle. God is the epitome of true and unconditional love. He has shown up for all of us in miraculous ways and even when we don’t deserve it, He is there to reassure us that He will never leave us.

All of these examples display God’s character. He is kind, forgiving patient, loving and merciful. He is saddened when we make mistakes and sin but He continues to relentlessly pursue us to remind us that He still loves us. I wholeheartedly believe that He created us knowing what humanity would turn into because He longed to have our love anyway. Just like how we as humans will know the exact outcome of something before we do it but we still hope with all our hearts that it will turn out differently. I no longer view God as this big ball of anger and judgment, I now see that His first response is comfort and forgiveness. He is just and He will punish sin but He is also the love that we will always need.

I hope this brings you a new perspective on God’s character. After I came to this realization, my relationship with God definitely changed. I feel so secure in His love and any doubt that I had before of His mercy towards me is gone. As I continue to explore God and His word, I want to encourage you to do the same. Sometimes what God has for us isn’t only for us, your obedience to Him may be to save someone else.

Just a girl and her camera