The Poetry of the Beginning
Picture God enjoying a crreative day. A special week. He calls light out of darkness, spreads the vast expanse of space. He uses words to gouge out a place for the seas and molds mounds of mountain, thousands of feet high, out of common dirt and stone. His fertile imagination calls lush vegetation into being. He hangs stars and moons on threads of nothing and sets them spinning in their places. A word, and the seas teem with fish, and out of nowhere birds take to the air. He speaks again and livestock and reptiles spring into being to roam and prowl the earth.
Then, finally, God gets to the good part. The really good part. People. Like me. Like you.
Where did we come from?
From the fingertips of God.
Who are we?
The pinnacle of Creation.
What are we like?
The greatest creature imaginable ... and also the worst.
I picture God enjoying a creative day. A special week. I do not doubt that he found the work of creation exhilarating. But I choose to imagine that when he came to the work of making people, with all their potential, he visualized each individual who ever would be born, descendatns of the first creative day--people like me, like you. And when his mind fell on each of us, I imagine his pulse quickened.
And he smiled and cried and smiled at our potential.
Friday, October 14, 2005
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Numbers and Names
It's a crowded place we call home.
Two thousand years ago, during the earthly ministry of Jesus, the planet was not so densely populated. There were 255 square miles per person. Today, there are eight. In 100 years there will be six.
Over the past two millennia, the world's population has increased 30-fold, from 200 million then to more than 6 billion today. Almost 6.5 billion individuals, known intimately by their Creator.
He knows their joys and their fears, their hopes and their hurt, their pride and their shame. He knows their life story--even the swirl of their fingerprints. And each one is deeply loved by their Maker, though millions are born, live and die without ever knowing that their Creator is also the Savior, and wants to be their friend.
So Christ walked the earth with 200 million other people. It took around 1,000 years for the population to double. It doubled again in 200 years. And again in less than 100 years. Forty-five years later, it doubled again. In 1975, Earth's family reached 4 billion. By 1999, the population passed the 6 billion mark. By 2050, we will number more than 10 billion.
The remarkable thing is this: The love of God keeps pace with the population growth.
© 2005
Two thousand years ago, during the earthly ministry of Jesus, the planet was not so densely populated. There were 255 square miles per person. Today, there are eight. In 100 years there will be six.
Over the past two millennia, the world's population has increased 30-fold, from 200 million then to more than 6 billion today. Almost 6.5 billion individuals, known intimately by their Creator.
He knows their joys and their fears, their hopes and their hurt, their pride and their shame. He knows their life story--even the swirl of their fingerprints. And each one is deeply loved by their Maker, though millions are born, live and die without ever knowing that their Creator is also the Savior, and wants to be their friend.
So Christ walked the earth with 200 million other people. It took around 1,000 years for the population to double. It doubled again in 200 years. And again in less than 100 years. Forty-five years later, it doubled again. In 1975, Earth's family reached 4 billion. By 1999, the population passed the 6 billion mark. By 2050, we will number more than 10 billion.
The remarkable thing is this: The love of God keeps pace with the population growth.
© 2005
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