Author of Creation
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”
- Colossians 1:15-16
There’s a song that we often sing in our Sunday morning worship services called, “Across the Lands” by the Getty’s; and in the chorus there’s a line that says, “You’re the Author of Creation…”.
That song came to mind when I read these verses from Colossians, and it made me wonder: do we consider Christ in this way? When we read the gospel accounts and imagine him teaching to the crowds of people, turning water into wine, feeding thousands with just two fish and a handful of bread, do we think that this man is the “Author of Creation”?
Because Paul seems to be saying—in these verses—that everything was made in the purpose and intention of Christ. In other words, everything—every cloud, mountain, drop of rain, leaf, and mole hill—every piece of creation was made in the way of Christ, through Him and for Him.
More-often-than-not, I think we forget this. Our usual inclination is to remember that God created the world, and then to assume that Jesus came into the picture about two thousand years ago to reveal this Creator God to us.
But here it clearly states that God created the world through Christ. There was no separation, no first and second. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the first over all creation. The beginning and the end. God spoke the world into being, and the Word that He spoke was Christ.
As E. Stanley Jones puts it, “[Does this] mean that the touch of Christ is upon all creation? That everything is made in its inner structure to work in His way? That if it works in His way it works well and harmoniously, and if it works some other way it works its own ruin? Is everything destined by its very nature to be in Him?”
Yes. Everything is destined, by its very nature, to be in Him.
Wow.
This means that all of creation has a Christ-drawn blueprint; that there’s a scaffolding of the creation order that is in Christ, a DNA that reflects the Divine Word. And when there are signs of creation gone awry—such as a pandemic—this is not a part of that harmonious ‘in Christ’ structure.
As Neil Plantinga once put it, it is “not the way it’s supposed to be.”
But what Paul seems to be urging us to remember, in every season, is that regardless of how chaotic things can get, regardless of how often we hear of earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes, regardless of how ‘not the way it’s supposed to be’ our world can feel, the created world is yet ‘in Him.’
As are we.
And when we live into this reality, we start noticing that every piece of creation—including ourselves—shouts the glory of Christ, and that God is in fact revealing Christ to us in the way that He’s created the world. We begin to see His footprints everywhere. We begin to see signs of His coming Kingdom everywhere.
So I encourage you today to take a moment. Go stand outside and praise God for His creation. See creation as sacramental—a means by which you can meet with Christ and be filled by Him.
And as a wise monk once said, "Don't try too hard. You cannot go to Him. You can only yield to His coming to you. Look closely at something long enough, and you will find that it begins to look back at you.”
Prayer: Living God, Author of Creation, Lord of every one of us—show us the work of Your hands. Give us eyes to see how You have infused the created world with Your presence and Your glory. Inspire us to see evidence of You everywhere and to be mindful of Your Spirit’s power around and within us. In Christ, amen.