‘In the beginning…”
We’re made aware of this God who creates, who acts, who makes things and says they’re good. In the beginning …if we take seriously the nature of God, the understanding that we have gained through the resultant search of many before us, that God has no beginning, he just…is.
Then the creation story is somehow also about a God who wants to be involved, who doesn’t just want to sit back and wonder what it would be like to create. He actually does it.
So God, starts, he begins, he makes, he decides to act, and from the beginning we see that this God takes the initiative.
Could this be one of the building blocks to understanding what God is like? If God decides to create, to begin something, he has to give. God gives first.
GOD
GIVES
FIRST.
What would compel God to give?
What compels you to give? More often than not when we give something away, we somehow expect something in return.
Is this God’s motivation? Is God expecting something back?
When God creates he simply tells what he has created to keep on creating to multiply and expand and grow. It’s almost as though this God, receives pleasure when his creation keeps on giving. Somehow when this divine principle of giving is practiced by the Creator’s creation the Creator receives. When creation gives, the Creator receives. When you give, God receives.
AndyC...
P.s. I wouldn't blame you if you thought my writing and phrasing in this article has a Rob Bell feel to it, I read and listen way too much to his stuff :D
Oh yes and this is just a random experiment on my part to make sense of the bible it's not a hermeneutical expose, it's just random thoughts that make sense to me, I hope they make sense to you.
2 comments:
Some times it seems like the whole bible is just a long list of what God expects in return.
Not all gifts are freely given by God, e.g. the knowledge of good and evil (aka freedom?). So what, God was only willing to go so far?
I suppose I find it hard to think about the motivation behind creation... looking at it as a gift doesn't work for me because it just seems too self indulgent. Unless that is supposed to be a quality of God? He does like to be praised after all! Moral of the story: indulge yourself, it's holy.
On the other hand, if creation was necessary that would be a whole other kettle of fish. God creates because God cannot contain Godself... that line of inquiry flies much more easily for me.
Thoughts?
Hey bro,
I'll just comment on my own post and then answer your question.
Firstly, you know me and the lengths I'll go to figure out and come up with something 'out of the box'. I have thought about this post and will most likely re-write it soon.
When I got the idea for this post it made a lot of sense to me, but in saying that it just became an inductive exercise, i.e. I allowed the idea to give meaning to the Bible, instead of being deductive and allowing the Bible to give meaning to my idea.
I really wanted to engage with the greatest (hardest to read cover to cover) story ever in a new and fresh way and I assumed that by trying to unify the themes in the Bible under a central idea, would help me to actually read it!
I totally understand your reasoning! I have just read and re-read the post and I can definitely see where you're coming from.
In the post I imply quite a lot of stuff that's not that obvious when you read. Like, I could qualified 'give' more when I wrote "If God decides to create, to begin something, he has to give."
In the back of my mind I had the idea that 'God creates because God cannot contain Godself...' when I wrote this. But it is obvious now that some explaining is needed.
If you take it literally that the Trinity exists in this endless community of love and intmacy. In order for that love to exist outside of trinity, they have to give it. Does this make sense? A diagram would be helpful here, but i have no way drawing one!
Perhaps I could have written; "This God, we're also made aware exists in some sort of community, creator, spirit and word. One without the other would almost render the ability to Create impossible. The Bible begins, 'In the beginning God', then in verse 2 it says that his Spirit hovered over the waters, and in the verse 3 we're told that his Word brings everything into existence. It is out of this three in oneness that Creation expounds. Out of this eternally divine, loving and intimate community oveflowing with goodness, Creation is birthed, it is given life. Not only is the Trinity loving, intimate and overflowing with goodness, they are also generous."
That would be a new rendering of the same idea.
Would it fly with you?
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