Week 3 - Day 4

THE STORY

Creation

YOUR CREATION

God didn’t just create the world and stop creating. His creative activity continues to this day. And part of His creative activity is the creation of you. You are God’s creation too.

Psalm 139:1-24 (NLT)

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

O LORD, you have examined my heart
    and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel
    and when I rest at home.
    You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, LORD.
You go before me and follow me.
    You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too great for me to understand!

I can never escape from your Spirit!
    I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
    if I go down to the grave, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning,
    if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
even there your hand will guide me,
    and your strength will support me.
I could ask the darkness to hide me
    and the light around me to become night—
    but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
    Darkness and light are the same to you.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
    and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
    Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
    as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
    They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
    they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
    you are still with me!

O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
    Get out of my life, you murderers!
They blaspheme you;
    your enemies misuse your name.
O LORD, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
    Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
    for your enemies are my enemies.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
    and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

• Whose choice and activity made you?

• What does this Psalm say about God’s relationship to you?

• How do you feel about God searching your heart, testing your thoughts and pointing out anything that offends Him?

• What does this Psalm say about the importance of your life?

• What does this Psalm say about the importance of human life, even human life in the womb?

• Does our society take the importance of human life seriously? Why or why not?

WHICH STORY?

Let’s remember that there are various stories demanding our attention. One key question to ask of any story is what kind of view does it have of humanity. Are humans part of creation, yet also a unique part of creation? Are humans ultimately made in the image of God and held accountable by God? Look under the hood of the stories you are considering. Only one story holds humans in such high regard and to such strict standards. Stories that devalue humans end up devaluing human life. Humans become expendable. But if humans are created in the image of God, they are to be respectfully treated and compassionately cared for. Human life is sacred from conception to natural death. There is no greater honor than to be made in the image of our Creator God. What story gives humans both the highest dignity and strictest accountability?

• In light of what you have discovered through the Bible readings and your personal reflections, how will you respond? Finish this sentence: I will …