A Powerful, Passionate God

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said…”

Genesis 1:1-3a (NIV)

Man’s origin opens with a glimpse of a spherical vacuum. God surveyed a dim, barren earthly canvas and determined to give it light and life. It is both curious and captivating to realize that God took a formless space and gave it form. He took a colorless void and arrayed it with color. God’s ability to take the hollowness and fill it with majestic beauty highlights two characteristics of God: His immense power and His immense passion for mankind. 

Let us ponder God’s immense power for a moment. Thousands of years have passed since God spoke the earth into existence and scientists are still recording new insights into the intricacy of this planet, along with its marine and land-dwelling creatures. Centuries have elapsed and astronomers are still looking to the expansive skies overhead and documenting previously unknown stars and peering further with amazement into the seemingly endless galaxies. Man’s collective age and wisdom have been enlarged and yet biologists are still discovering details about the human frame’s underlying composition and its complex internal interactions. All of these reflections point to a God Who is immensely powerful. The Lord whispers and raging storms cease. He bids and the mighty angelic hosts obey. He speaks and a vibrant, elaborate planet appears out of utter nothingness. Truly, God is a powerful God. He is unmatched in His supremacy and His splendor. No one can withstand His glory or His strength. He is eternal, awesome, and great. The sophistication of this world’s structure, which was once formless and empty, underscores the power of mankind’s masterful Maker. 

But also consider God’s immense passion for mankind. Humanity was the final product of God’s creative work. Adam was fashioned by God in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). This is an intriguing thought. If God is Spirit, which means God does not have a distinct physical profile (John 4:24), then how is it that Adam, the original man, resembled the figureless God? The answer is best found in the latter part of Genesis 1:26. God created man to govern the earth through labor and leadership. Therefore, humanity’s likeness to God is a positional parallel, not a physical one. The Lord gave us charge over the earthly domain, the domain that He effectively and dynamically brought about. The God Who has no beginning or end, the God of power and the God of passion, made us and He sustains us. We were created so that we could be immersed in the rain of righteousness that flows from the Lord’s heavenly throne. Clearly, life is a precious gift from God. We were placed here to know the Lord and delight in Him. He earnestly desires for us to experience and appreciate His holy love. May this knowledge produce in us a heart of wonder and a heart of worship.