Proverbs 8.27-31
“When he established the heavens, I was there; when he drew a circle on the face of the deep, when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep, when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man.”
I want to continue with the theme that wisdom … the laws of physics … the Lord’s tsedek … was continually at work in the creation and formation of the world.
God first created the physical and spiritual laws of the universe, and then used those laws in the creation of the universe. As noted yesterday, Lady Wisdom (including the physical laws) “delighted” and “rejoiced” with God in the creation of the world and the creation of mankind. As Genesis says, the Lord looked at what he created and declared it “very good.”
Having said that, there is a problem. A big problem. Most Christians today do not treat God’s physical laws with the degree of respect — let alone rejoicing and delight — that they deserve.
In order to operate effectively in the world that God has created, it is necessary to understand the laws and principles that God has created to bring order to creation. Most Christians focus on the spiritual laws that govern the spiritual world, but they seriously neglect the physical laws that govern the physical world.
Jesus calls us to life in the real world. He did not save us only for the inner life and after life; he sends us into the world now to be agents of his kingdom and have dominion. Understanding the physical laws that govern the world is essential our calling and mission. To limit Christianity primarily to the after life or the inner life is to distort the Christian journey. Abraham Kuyper said it well: “There is not one square inch of the entire creation about which Jesus Christ does not cry out, ‘This is mine! This belongs to me!’”
God’s plan was to establish his kingdom on planet earth by living in and ruling through man. God created man to live and work on earth in a way that reflects his character and represents his rule. We were created to be bearers of God’s image and agents of God’s kingdom. Our ability to have dominion and represent God’s kingdom (what we do) is dependent on the presence of his image and life in us (who we are).
We are created and called to be priests over creation. We receive the world as a gift from God, we work in it and on it, and then we offer our work in the world back to God as an offering in praise—a world touched by our gifts and shaped by our labor. And in doing so, we imitate God. We reflect our Maker. Our daily work is part of what it means to bear the very image of God our Creator.
Trust God, do the work, and delight in it.
