I’ve been able to stand along coastlines in almost all the states from Maine to Florida. I’ve been able to look out over the Atlantic, camp along the Pacific, and get one of the worst sunburns of my life walking along the Gulf of Mexico. I’ve taken a ferry across the English Channel and a boat trip on the Rhine River in Germany. I was very excited to stick my feet in the Jordan River, walk along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and float in the Dead Sea. I also got to spend a summer working on the shores of the largest high elevation lake in North America, Lake Yellowstone.
I love the water and every time I am near it I stand in awe of creation and in humble gratitude for our Creator, but it wasn’t until I was thinking about water and creation this week that I saw something I had never noticed before. While I know God created all things and the Bible says God created the heavens and the earth, water has always just been there. Look at Genesis 1:1-2.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
The water was just there. Before the days of creation began, there was water. On day two of creation, God separated the water above and the water below, but the water was already there. Genesis 1:6-8 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
I never noticed in the creation story that water was just always there. I believe God created it, but unlike the sun, moon, and stars, the dry ground and all vegetation, and unlike all the animals of the sea and land, there wasn’t a separate day when God created water. The water was just there. God hovered over the chaotic waters, and separated the waters to form the sky, and God drew the water together on earth to form dry ground, but the water was always there. Honestly, it’s just an interesting fact I never noticed in all my readings of the creation story. I love how God’s word can still surprise me and speak about the mystery of God. I hope you enjoy reading God’s word and if you want direction on reading it and applying it to your life, sign up for the dwell workshop.
One of the things I have always loved about the creation story is that there is a very clear order in how God creates. First there is water, which is a building block of life. If there is no water, there is no life. Then God creates light, another building block. If there is no light, there is no life. Then God forms the land which is obviously needed to produce the plants. There is an order and purpose to all that God does in creation.
Once the water, light, land, and vegetation are in place, God brings forth living creatures. The animals can’t come before the plants because the purpose of the plants is to feed the animals. So God creates the sea creatures and then the land animals. God saves the best for last when He creates men and women in His image. There is an order to creation and each part of creation has a purpose. Water is needed for life. The dry ground is needed for plants. The plants are needed for food. The purpose of all this is to support the life of living creatures. God creates everything for a purpose.
Everything has a purpose, which means that we were also created for a purpose, and we see part of that purpose in Genesis 1:26-28.
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
God created us to rule over the world He had just created. We were created to manage and care for the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living creatures, and we were to do it with care and faithfulness. We know God wants us to be good stewards of the world because the first job God gave us was to name the animals.
Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. Genesis 2:19-20
As children of the Creator, we were invited to work alongside God in the process of creation. God shared the creative process with us when he asked us to name the animals. What a gift. What an honor. This is an example of how much God loves us. From the very beginning we see God’s love for us. We were created in love and part of our purpose as God’s children is to live in that love and share that love with others.
Like all of creation, we were created for a purpose and the underlying purpose in all our lives is to love God and love others. The earliest instructions God gave was to love God and love others. When God came to walk among us in the person of Jesus, He told us to love God and love others. The fundamental purpose of our lives is to love God and love others. When we get this right, we start finding peace. When we focus on this purpose first, the rest of life begins to fall into place. But when we lose sight of this purpose, life begins to fall apart.
For several years I had greyhounds. I love the breed and there is still something that softens in my heart when I see one. After I got my first greyhound, I wanted to see what dog racing was like, so I went to a dog track that was still operating in CT. I was amazed at how fast the dogs ran. My greyhound didn’t run. She didn’t even like to walk, but those greyhounds were fast.
I heard a story about a greyhound race where the mechanical rabbit malfunctioned halfway through the race. It didn’t just stop, it blew up. As you know, dogs chase the rabbit around the track, but when that rabbit blew to pieces, the dogs didn’t know what to do. The dogs had been trained to chase the rabbit. Their purpose was to chase the rabbit. When the rabbit was gone, the dogs were lost.
Some dogs walked around and then laid down. Some dogs went over to the stands and started barking at the crowd, and some dogs ran right into the guard rails. Without a purpose, some dogs napped, some dogs barked, and some dogs got hurt. The same is true for us. Without a purpose we nap, we bark, and we get hurt. Seriously, without a purpose, we are not at our best. When we are not living with purpose, we aren’t making a difference and we aren’t making waves.
To make waves we have to live with purpose and let’s not make it too complicated. Our purpose has always been to love God and love others. The Bible calls us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Loving God needs to be the focus of all we say and do. Our words and actions all need to reflect God’s love and when they do, we make waves.
In the creation story, all God does is speak. God speaks and light pierces the darkness. God speaks and waters pull back and dry ground to appear. God speaks and plants and animals are formed. God speaks and the world comes into being. God’s small words made waves. As children created in the image of God, our small words can make waves. Our words can make waves that bring life, or our words can be like tsunami waves that bring destruction.
Proverbs 18:21, The tongue has the power of life and death.
When we pray for others, when our words encourage people, honor them, and lift them up, our words bring life. Our words can bring life, but our words can also destroy. Our words can cause wounds that can last a lifetime. James 3:5. The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
One small and hurtful word can destroy someone’s life. Most of us can probably remember that one hurtful word said by someone in school, or the discouraging word spoken by a teacher. Those words stick with us long after all the life-giving words are forgotten. Our purpose is not to destroy and tear down but to bring life. As children of God, our purpose is love in ways that bring life, so let’s make sure all our words bring life. Let’s use our words to make a positive difference and fill the world with the waves of God’s love and grace.
Small words make waves and so do simple actions. It really is our simple acts of love and kindness done day in and day out that make the biggest waves. While Jesus was known for some pretty big miracles, like feeding the 5,000 and walking on water, it may have been His simple acts of love that had the biggest impact. Day after day Jesus welcomed those who were considered outcast and unclean to enter into His world. He laid His hands on children and touched those who were sick and dying. Every day Jesus seemed to reach out in a simple but tangible way to love someone and it is the sum total of those simple acts that changed the world.
Most of us are never going to be in a position to do one big act of love that will change the world, but that has never been God’s purpose for us. Jesus called us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. Jesus called us to forgive those who have offended and hurt us and be willing to put the needs of others before our own. Our purpose isn’t to do one big thing for God, it is to do all the small things with love.
Our purpose is to show God’s love in how we listen and care for others. Our purpose is to quietly find ways to support those around us instead of demanding others support us. Our purpose is to be the hands and feet of Jesus who made a difference by how He simply loved those around Him.
Our purpose is to find simple ways to show God’s love to others. Every day find a new way to love your family or reach out in love to your friends. Those waves make a difference. If we commit ourselves to these simple things, we will change our families and community. More importantly, if we commit to these simple things, we will change our own lives and we will be living into the purpose God has for us.
The Apostle Paul said, We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10
I often read this verse and think that it is talking about some great thing God has planned for me to do, but I think that is more my pride talking than God’s plan. The work God prepared in advance for us to do is simply to love God and love others. Each of us will love in different times, and in different places, and in different ways, but that is our purpose, and when we do it together, waves of grace and power form in our world that nothing can stop.
There are times when we all lose sight of our purpose and need to be called back to the basics of our faith. If you feel the need or the desire to return to a life of loving God and loving others and want to recommit yourself to walking with Jesus, we want to invite you to make that commitment on Sunday July 24. There will be an opportunity for you to reaffirm the vows of baptism and profess your faith and trust in Jesus once again.
If you have never been baptized and want to commit to making Jesus your Lord and Savior, if you want to come to the water of baptism and find new life and eternal life, we invite you to do that as well. July 24 will be a day for us to celebrate the faith of new believers and those who want to recommit to living for Jesus. If you are feeling called to make this commitment, we want to invite you to sign up in the lobby or online or talk with one of the pastors.
During the past few years, I know that God has done a great work of renewal here at Faith Church. People have started walking with Jesus or have made walking with Jesus a priority in their life. July 24th will be a great day for us to celebrate the waves of God’s Spirit that are moving among us. We hope that if you are feeling called to make some waves that you will let us know.
We were created by God for a purpose, to love God and to share that love with others. With small words and simple acts of love, let’s make waves that will change our world.
Next Steps
Make Waves -Creation
Read Genesis 1 & 2.
● What new insights do you see in the creation story?
● Outline the order of each day and identify its purpose.
● How do we know that we were created in God’s love and for the purpose of sharing God’s love?
Pastor Andy said, “The underlying purpose in all our lives is to love God and love others.”
● How do we know this to be true?
● Where do we see this in the story of creation?
● Where do we find this message taught in scripture?
● How did Jesus live out and teach this purpose?
○ List some examples of Jesus loving God.
○ List some examples of Jesus loving others.
God’s small words brought about the waves of creation.
● Read Proverbs 18:21 and James 3:5.
● How can our small words bring life?
● When have our words brought destruction?
● This week, share some small words of love with someone who needs encouragement.
The simple acts of Jesus made the biggest waves.
● Identify 3 simple acts of love seen in Jesus’ life.
● How did these simple acts change the world?
● How can you make these simple acts a part of your daily routine?
● What simple acts of love can you carry out this week?
If you would like to recommit to the purpose God has for you by renewing the vows of baptism, or if you would like to be baptized for the first time and make Christ your Savior and Lord, please contact one of the pastors or sign up in the lobby or online.
