This blog is dedicated to the two Emmas
in my life. Emma Jane Curry and Emma
Blencowe – my prayer for the two of you is, that no matter what life throws at
you, you will continue to grow in the knowledge that God wants beautiful things
for you.
“It was a cold, stormy
day. The children and I were driving to
the dentist. We witnessed the clouds clear and the most magnificent rainbow appeared. Our four-year-old daughter had been given a
book about Noah and we read it daily.
Thinking this was a wonderful opportunity to illustrate the story of
Noah, I asked her why God sent the rainbow.
After a moment of silence, she said, “Cause God wants us to have
beautiful things to look at!”
Even though it was not quite
the answer I was looking for, it is wonderful to know she is growing up in the
knowledge God wants beautiful things for her.”1
This
same daughter, Emma Jane, is now eleven years old and has been asking the
following question repeatedly for the past few months “If God knows everything
that is going to happen in the future WHY did He create the world and make us,
knowing that we would sin and destroy the world He gave us?”
Up
until yesterday I have not been able to give her an answer with any real
conviction because, truth be told, it is a question I have struggled with most
of my life! I have always told her that
God made the human race because He wants to have a relationship with us but
that does not answer the question of ‘why would He do that? Why would He give us freedom of choice when
He knew that we would turn our backs on Him and destroy the world?’
We
were driving along the coast and had just been admiring a beautiful rainbow
when Emma Jane said, with awe in her voice, “Wow, mom, isn’t God
wonderful!” and then it struck me – that is the reason why we were born –
God made us so that we could experience joy and wonder and reverence for Him
and His creation. If we didn’t have
freedom of choice we would not be able to experience any emotions – we would be
robotic creatures unable to form a relationship with God and to interact with
Him.
God
knew we would destroy the earth but He would still have created it even if only
a small percentage of the human race over all the ages chose to follow Him. He confirmed this when He sent Jesus to die
on the cross “for God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
He
knew long before He created the world that we would sin but His desire to have
fellowship with us, His longing for us to experience the beauty that He could
provide us with and the fact that He wants us to spend eternity with Him in
heaven was worth it.
“The
entire human race was created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Sin has diverted the human race onto another
course, but it has not altered God’s purpose to the slightest degree. And when
we are born again we are brought into the realization of God’s great purpose
for the human race, namely, that He
created us for Himself. This realization
of our election by God is the most joyful on earth, and we must learn to rely
on this tremendous creative purpose of God”.2
We
are made in God's image "and therefore share many of His characteristics
and emotions. Knowing this provides the basis for self-worth.
Self-worth is not defined by possessions, achievements, physical
attractiveness, or public acclaim. Self-worth is knowing that God created
us in His likeness. Criticizing or downgrading ourselves is criticizing
what God has made. Because we are like God we can feel positive about
ourselves and our abilities. Knowing that you are a person of infinite
worth gives you the freedom to love God, know Him personally, and make a
valuable contribution to those around you".3
1.
Extract from God's Promise for Families, Noelene Curry
2.
My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers
3.
Life Application Bible, Study notes
No comments:
Post a Comment