Objects of His Love

   One of my favorite verses of Scripture is from the Old Testament book, the Wisdom of Solomon.

For Thou lovest all the things that are, and abhorrest nothing which Thou hast made: for never wouldest Thou have made any thing, if Thou hadst hated it. (Wisd. 11:24)

It is a comforting thought to know that I exist because the Creator of the universe loves me and wants me to be here. He did not create me or anyone else to be hated. He created everyone and everything to be loved by Him. God loves every single individual on this earth and if there is life in other parts of the universe, He loves them, too.

   God's love for us implies that He desires to have a relationship with each of us. He wants us to communicate with Him and He wants to communicate with us. This means that God reveals Himself to us and He actually does that. He reveals Himself to us through nature. St. Paul said,

For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. (Rom. 1:20, KJV)

King David wrote in the 18th Psalm,

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. (Psalm 18:1, LXX)

   God also has revealed Himself to us through the writings of His prophets and through His Son, Jesus Christ.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds. (Heb. 1:1,2, KJV)

   The Bible, which includes all of those books accepted in the regional Church councils accepted by the Quinisext Council (692 A.D.) in its Second Canon, contains the writings of those prophets. These books of the Bible reveal God to us.

   Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate, of course, also reveals God to us.

   Since we are created to be loved by God, we should spend time knowing God. We need to read the Bible daily and pray frequently. We should try to obey God in our daily lives by keeping His commandments. Jesus said:

He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him. (St. John 14:21, KJV)

St. John the Theologian wrote:

He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (I John 2:4, KJV)

   Obedience to God is evidence that one knows and loves God. We all sin, however. (I Kings 8:46; Rom. 3:23) So, repentance, therefore, should be the outcome of spending time with God. A person who sees his sinfulness after reading pages of Holy Scripture and does not attempt to abandon his sinful way of living is like a man who looks at himself in a mirror, walks away, and then forgets what he looks like. (James 1:22-24)

   Being objects of God's love, we each have value. No one is worthless. Being objects of God's love, God desires that we know Him and He has revealed Himself to us through nature, the Bible, and His Son Jesus Christ. We should spend time with God in prayer and reading the Bible. We should strive to keep His commandments. Obedience to God's commandments is evidence that we know Him and love Him.

Steve

Purpose

   People often live their lives without any purpose or meaning, not knowing that God created them for a purpose — actually, for several purposes. Having a meaningless existence can result in depression. People need to have something to look forward to, something to hope for, some purpose for living. Otherwise, life can become frustrating. Without a purpose, one might feel as if his life is empty and without value.
   God gives each of us value. To Him, each of us is worth far more than everything else He created. Each human individual is worth more than a sparrow.

Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. (St. Matt. 10:31)

Each human individual is worth more than the whole universe!

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world (Greek, kosmos, universe), and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (St. Matt. 16:26)

God loves everyone whom He made. He created us so that He can love us. He created no one to be hated.

For Thou lovest all the things that are, and abhorrest nothing which Thou hast made: for never wouldest Thou have made any thing, if Thou hadst hated it. (Wisd. 11:24)

   Man is the glory of God. God created him in His glory and commands him to do everything for His glory. (I Cor. 11:7; Isaiah 43:7, LXX; I Cor. 10:31)

The Lord hath not given power to the saints to declare all His marvellous works, which the Almighty Lord firmly settled, that whatsoever is might be established for His glory. (Ecclus. 42:17)

   There are several ways that man can glorify God. Some of these ways are:

1.) Worshiping Him. (Psalm 49:23, LXX; Heb. 13:15)
2.) Abstaining from sexual immorality. (I Cor. 6:13-20)
3.) Bearing the fruit (St. John 15:8):

a.) of the Spirit. (Gal. 5:22,23; Eph. 5:9)
b.) of new converts to Christ. (St. John 4:35,36; Col. 1:6)
c.) of the womb. (Psalm 126:3, LXX; 127:3, LXX)
d.) of good works. (St. Matt. 3:8; 5:16; 7:17,18; Phil. 1:11; Col. 1:10)

   God created everything for Himself. He died and rose again from the dead so that everyone will live their lives for Him and not for themselves. (Col. 1:16; Rom. 14:7-9; II Cor. 5:15)
   God created man to know Him. (St. John 17:3) It is not possible to know God without obeying Him. (I John 2:4) We must continue to obey Him in order to continue to know Him.
   God created man as neither mortal nor immortal, but He created him to be immortal.

For God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of His own eternity. (Wisd. 2:23)

However, man sinned and became mortal. The soul is already immortal. It is the body that dies. It is God's desire that everyone's body be resurrected immortal. (St. John 5:28,29; I Cor. 15:51-53; I Tim. 2:4; II Pet. 3:9) Everyone will not though. Most will not enjoy the blessed life that God wants them to have in the afterlife. (St. Matt. 7:13,14; 13:49,50; Rev. 20:12-15)
   God created man a little lower than the angels, but to become equal to the angels. (Ps. 8:5, LXX; Heb. 2:6; St. Luke 20:36)
   God created man to take care of His creation and to rule over it. (Gen. 1:26-28; Ps. 8:6-8; Heb. 2:6-8) God created man to work. (Gen. 2:5; 3:24; Job 5:7, LXX) God's intention is for man to labor at some tasks forever. (Isaiah 65:21,22, LXX)
   God created man to procreate. (Gen. 1:28) I believe that it is God's intention for man to procreate forever. (Psalms 78:13, LXX; 88:4, LXX; 105:31, LXX; 112:9, LXX; 144:13, LXX; 145:10, LXX; Isaiah 11:6-8, LXX; 31:9, LXX; 48:18,19, LXX; 60:21,22, LXX; 65:23, LXX; Wisd. 3:13; Eph. 3:21, NKJV; Heb. 6:13,14,17)
   God created woman for man to be his helper, companion, and support. (Gen. 2:18-24; Mal. 2:14, LXX; Ecclus. 36:24; Tob. 8:6; I Cor. 11:9) 
   Knowing why we are here helps us to have meaning and a purpose in life. When we live our lives for the purposes for which God created us, we no longer live aimlessly. We should strive to do those things which God wants us to do.

Steve

The Creation of the Universe

Everything that exists has an origin and a beginning. According to Solomonia, the mother of the seven Maccabean martyrs, God created everything out of nothing.

I beseech thee, my son, look upon the heaven and the Earth, and all that is therein, and consider that God made them of things that were not; and so was mankind made likewise. (II Macc. 7:28)

God created a vast universe out of nothing. Photo courtesy: NASA

Imagine for a moment. Everything that you see and hear was originally nothing. There was no matter. There was no energy. There were no angels. There were no people. There were no plants and animals. Before God began His act of creation, there was God only. Out of nothing, He created everything. He did not create everything out of Himself. Otherwise, everything would be God and there would be no need for Him to give us this prohibition in Exodus:

Thou shalt not make to thyself an idol, nor likeness of anything, whatever things are in the Heaven above, and whatever are in the Earth beneath, and whatever are in the waters under the Earth. Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor serve them; for I am the Lord thy God, a jealous God, recompensing the sins of the fathers upon the children, to the third and fourth generation to them that hate me, and bestowing mercy on them that love me to thousands of them, and on them that keep My commandments. (Exodus 20:4-6, LXX)

If everything is God, then anyone who worships an idol would be worshipping God out of whom everything is made. Everything is not God, though. God made nothing out of Himself. He made everything out of nothing. Therefore, it is wrong to worship created things.

In the Wisdom of Solomon, it says that God loves everything that He made.

For Thou lovest all the things that are, and abhorrest nothing which Thou hast made: for never wouldest Thou have made any thing, if Thou hadst hated it. (Wisdom 11:24)

God is love. (I John 4:8) Therefore, God created things to be loved and not to be hated. God never would have created anything that He would hate. He only created things that He loves.

Closely in line with this thinking is that of St. Paul. St. Paul said that God created everything for Himself.

For by Him were all things created, that are in Heaven, and that are in Earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him. (Col. 1:16)

St. John the Theologian said that everything that exists exists because God wants it to exist.

You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created. (Rev. 4:11, NKJV)

God loves everything that He has made. He wants it to exist. He created everything for Himself to be objects of His love. One of the other reasons for creation is existence. Just as God exists, so He desires that His creation have existence. In the Wisdom of Solomon, it says:

For He created all things, that they might have their being. (Wisdom 1:14)

One of the physical laws of the universe is the law of the conservation of matter and energy. According to this law, nothing ever really ceases to exist. It simply exists in one form or another. Matter can be recombined into form other chemical substances, but matter never ceases to exist. Energy, likewise, can be used, but it is never permanently expended. It is converted into other forms of energy or else it lies dormant as residual energy. Matter can be changed into energy. Energy can be changed into matter. Nowhere in the universe, according to this law, is there a permanent loss of this matter-energy substance.

So, God never had in mind the permanent annihilation of anything that He created. He wants things to continue to exist.

In the Book of Ecclesiasticus, it says:

The sun that giveth light looketh upon all things, and the work thereof is full of the glory of the Lord. The Lord hath not given power to the saints to declare all his marvellous works, which the Almighty Lord firmly settled, that whatsoever is might be established for His glory. (Ecclesiasticus 42:16,17)

Notice that it says "that whatsoever is might be established for His glory." (Ecclesiasticus 42:17) God created everything for His glory. In the 18th Psalm, it says:

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims the work of His hands. (Psalm 18:1, LXX)

In the 96th Psalm, it says:

The heavens have declared His righteousness, and all the people have seen His glory. (Psalm 96:6, LXX)

We can behold God's glory in His creation. In Isaiah, it says:

And one cried to the other, and they said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole Earth is full of His glory. (Isaiah 6:3, LXX)

The whole Earth is full of God's glory and will continue to be filled with His glory. In the 71st Psalm, it says that the Earth shall be filled with His glory.

And blessed is His glorious name for ever, even for ever and ever: and all the Earth shall be filled with His glory. (Psalm 71:19, LXX)

The Psalmist is using the future tense. In the 103rd Psalm, it says that God's glory is forever.

Let the glory of the Lord be for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in His works (Psalm 103:31, LXX)

God's glory is eternal because God Himself is eternal. God will be glorified in His creation. Also, in this same verse, it says that "the Lord shall rejoice in His works." As we have already seen, the Divine Scriptures teach that God did not create anything to be hated. He created everything to be loved by Him. (Wisdom 11:24) He, therefore, rejoices in His works (that is, His creation). He enjoys what He has made.

In some future blogs, I will write about the creation of intelligent life — namely, angels and men.

Steve