Welcome to Part 2 of our 6 part series on Christian Stuff – helping you explore the basics of the Christian faith in a safe place.

 

Part 1 looked at The Bible as the historical evidence that provides our reference for what we believe. 

 

But let’s go right back to the beginning – the place where God created the heavens and the earth.  

 

Genesis 1:1 says in the beginning God created.

 

It’s like a painter who gives clues to their personality and character – creation is God’s canvas.

 

Have you ever stopped to look at the world around you – from the biggest thing to the smallest thing – where everything holds together in perfect balance - it’s an amazing place. 

 

When Paul wrote to the Roman church (Romans 1:20) he said that since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities have been clearly seen from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. In other words if we take the time to look around, there is no excuse for denying God as the creator. Now I believe it takes more faith to believe that all of this  just happened – than there is a creator who had a perfect design from the beginning.

 

Let’s start with the expanse of the universe.

  

We live on a planet that is over 120,00km in diameter. 385,000km away is the moon and another 150 million kms away is the sun. The sun is one of only 400 billion stars in our galaxy and there is estimated somewhere between 50 and 200 billion galaxies in the universe. Well at least that’s what we know about – it is a massive place.

 

There is some poetry in the bible that says: (Psalm 19:1-2)

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. 

The skies display his craftsmanship.

Day after day they continue to speak;

night after night they make him known.

 

At the smallest end we look at the space between atoms which is measured in nanometres. A nanometre is one billionth of a metre – which is about the same perspective as a marble to the size of the earth. That’s small and God has created everything form the biggest to the smallest.

 

But its not just about size – its about creativity. There are 1.8 million living animal species that we know about and possibly up to 10 million that are still to be discovered. Just think about some of them and how much creativity God has shown in their design.

 

Even within the human race there is so much detail. Each human has a unique finger  and tongue print , 100,000 km of blood vessels, and an average of 100,000 strands of hair. We produce about 1 litre of saliva every day and a heart that just keeps beating so that if you reach the age of 70 it will have beat 2.5 billion times.

 

God’s involvement in creation isn’t about winding it up and setting it in motion.

 

He is alive today and is continuing to sustain and renew His creation. Even though it is so complex He has an amazing desire to have a relationship with you. 

 

Some more poetry in the Bible says: (Ps 8:3-4)

“When I look at the night sky and see the work of your hands,  the moon and the stars you set in place, what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that you should care for them?”

 

See, science does a good job of answering some of the How questions – how did we get here, how do things work. But it is not so good at answering the Why questions – why are we here, why does that work like that, why did God create the world and why would He want to know about me?

 

If you keep exploring this series on Christian Stuff then you will find the answers to some of those.

 

QUESTIONS

• What are some of the things in nature that amaze you? 

• How do you think they were created?

• Where do you think time began and where will time end?

• Do you think that humans are different to other living things on Earth? Why or why not?

• Why do you think God wants a relationship with people? 

• Do you think He wants a relationship with you?

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