In Chapter 2 of Engaging God's World, Plantinga talks about many different aspects of creation. He talks specifically how we are created to be image bearers of God. He talks about the original doctrine of creation, and also gives the reason why God created the earth and how beautifully he designed it.
One part of the chapter that I really found refreshing was Plantinga's reasoning for why God created the earth. He said, "Creation is neither a necessity nor an accident." He says that we should instead look at it more so as "creation is an act that was fitting for God." It's such a comfort to know that God created the world not because he had to, or because it was created by accident. Nothing was an accident, but was created just how he wanted it to be. When God created the world, he didn't just create the absolute necessities. He knows that humans love variety, and so he created things often just for beauty. Plantinga uses the example of apples and pears. We could survive if we had only apples and no pears, but God gave us pears for more variety and beauty in life.
Another aspect that really jumped out at me was the idea that we are the image-bearers of God. Plantinga says that the word 'image' is not only a noun, but also a verb. We are not only images of God, but we image God in what we do and say to others. He says that we are image bearers in three ways: responsible dominion over the earth, living in communion with each other, and being like Jesus in that we may suffer like he did. This last part really stuck out to me, because we often don't think of this as part of being an image bearer of Jesus. Plantinga says, "Because the Son of God dies, so must those who hope, like him, to be raised to new life." Being an image bearer of God definitely does not mean taking the easy road by any means; rather, it means taking the much more difficult road by faith.
I think that the last type of imaging God is something that we so often overlook. In today's society we are so used to hearing that being a Christian will bring us good things. We forget that our reward is heavenly and that we will be asked to endure suffering here on earth.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed what you said in the second paragraph about God sometimes creating things just for beauty. To be honest, I take that for granted all the time. We could all be just fine if it was fall or some other season all year around but God didn't want that... He wanted us to have variety (and beauty) that I hardly ever stop to thank Him for. This chapter was a good reminder for me to stop and thank God for the small, beautiful things in life.
ReplyDeleteGreat points in your second paragraph. I do love that quote by Plantinga on creation being neither an accident, nor a necessity. God did it out of the goodness of His own heart. The other amazing part is that he didn't create just the bare necessities of life, but he included immense amounts of variety that still thrill us today. How great is our God?
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