Implications of a God Who Creates

There is not a lot we definitively know about God, but through the ages, one truth is continually affirmed, as summarized in Isaiah 45:18-19:

Thus says the Lord, the creator of the heavens, who is God, the designer and maker of the earth, who established it, not as an empty waste did he create it, but designing it to be lived in: I am the Lord, and there is no other. I have not spoken in secret, from some place in the land of darkness; I have not said to the descendents of Jacob, “Look for me in an empty waste.”

What we are certain about God is that God creates. From that truth flows other logical assumptions we can make about God: God creates carefully. God designed creation to be lived in. We all can hear God speak through what God creates. We should not look for God in an empty waste, for the God who creates is not to be found there.

What does this information say to us as we begin a new year?

• If God creates, we are also called to create—if not artistically, then through the life we fashion via the choices we make. To create requires contemplation and time. What must we do to provide the space and time we need to create in a careful way?

• We have been invited to live in creation, which implies appreciating it, exploring it, and being a partner with it to sustain all life. How will we awaken to the wonders of creation this year and use the wisdom it offers to make sure future generations will be able to live here too?

• What is God saying to us in creation, and where/in whom do we find the place of light from which God speaks?

God makes all things new, which is a great source of hope. We are invited to join God in making all things new, for as Daniel Berrigan said, “If you want to have hope, do hopeful things.” Here’s to a creative new year!