I was recently reading through the creation account; the first part of Genesis 1:1 says “In the beginning God…”
I thought what if God just stopped there. He was already well aware of who he was, what he was capable of doing, and already abided in great glory. He really could have just taken it easy and chilled out for the rest of eternity. My next thought was that’s basically the equivalent of us plopping ourselves down on the couch and watching reruns of (insert favorite TV show) for the rest of our days. The fanboy in me thinks that sounds kind of fun, until I play it out to the conclusion; by and by, it’s boring and it adds up to an awful waste of time and talent.
The world around us is not just a collage of abstract mountains, fields, forests, oceans, creatures, and people; it is a complex and interconnected system of processes that include physics, weather, geology, biology, anatomy, psychology, and spirituality. The waters moisten the ground that nurtures the vegetation which provide creatures with the oxygen and energy that drives their work, a testimony to how God is so brilliantly detailed and powerfully sufficient to create a system so complex and yet so beautiful. It’s like this because God was not content to just chillax. Life is able to exist because he was completely aware of who he was and what he wanted to do.
Likewise, we do not exist to merely exist, but to support, contribute, and create; the interconnected nature of the world around us demands that creation interacts with it. Just as God allowed humanity to interact and participate in the early period of creation, he has allowed us to interact and participate in its redemption. Though we misdirected creation by insisting life revolve around us, God, in his holy character, set forth his brilliant and powerful mind to new plans and processes by which the world would be redeemed and reconciled to himself. Now we are a community shaped by his character to reflect his character in all we do.
This is the part where we usually start talking about how God has given us gifts (which he has) and how he expects us to use them (which he does), but we all know that. What we may not know, or just don’t take seriously, is how much time and talent we are wasting by not using them. And it’s not just a waste of time and talent; it’s a form of neglect. It’s an attitude that says “I don’t care what God has empowered me to do or given me responsibility for or whom it affects.”
Have you ever wondered if someone may go to Hell because you never made an effort? Put another way, what heart does not have the Hope of Heaven in it because it hasn’t seen it in you or heard you share it? God is no couch potato and for us to live like one by cushioning our comfort zones or shelving our gifts insults him and the world we are made to reach.
Don’t waste your life. Don’t waste the wonder and the work he has created you for.
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