Genesis 1:1-3 (NIV): 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.
Sometimes people look at the beginning of something and are dismayed, unable to see the shape of the finished product when the work is in its initial stages. Every huge, tall building that is built today begins by digging a deep hole in the ground. It doesn’t look very tall or impressive at that stage, but the blueprints, the vision of the finished product, leads the engineer to begin with something that doesn’t look anything like the final, glorious product.
When human life begins, it starts as a dot smaller than a period at the end of a sentence. But in that single fertilized cell, all of the person that will be is present, awaiting future development. To some, this early stage seems so much less than the finished product, that they have no problem dehumanizing it and sweeping it away. But, just as in the skyscraper’s construction, when you destroy the beginning, you are actually destroying the end as well. By aborting an embryo or a fetus, you are not destroying a “potential person,” but the actual person that is in the process of development.
When God first created the heavens and the earth, they didn’t look like much. In fact, they looked like nothing at all, since there was no light! There was the vast expanse of space, empty except for a lone, water-covered orb, spinning in the inky blackness of a starless void. Anyone looking at that initial stage, that first creation, could easily have written it off as a failure. Lots of empty space, with one, lone, watery, lifeless globe spinning in it. But all of that was merely the first dab of paint on an empty canvas. It was all empty and formless, that is true. But over it all God’s Spirit hovered, full of the creative power to bring His entire vision into glorious fulfillment. From the first burst of blinding light, things began to move toward the complete realization of His plan. In six short days, the scene had changed completely. The heavens were ablaze with countless stars. The world had become a brilliant blue-green sphere, teeming with plant and animal life. And the first two human beings, the parents of all who would fill the earth thereafter, were gazing in wonder at their new home. Everything was perfect – exactly as God had planned it. From such humble beginnings, God had created a masterpiece.
Believe it or not, it is the same way with people. Often, when people come to God, they come as something not very impressive by divine standards. Some come smelling strongly of cigarette smoke and alcohol. Some come tattooed and pierced. Some come with all of the scars, internal and external, of a life badly lived. All come laden with sins, and with mental and emotional baggage that has made their whole lives, in the end, a barren wilderness. Even those that come with worldly wealth and position, but black with sin inside, actually bring nothing to the table that is of benefit to God in shaping them into what He wants them to become. Some might look at the darkness of these lives and determine that they are a pretty poor place to start in building anything of divine use. In a sense, when these people come, they are like that pit that is dug in order to build a skyscraper; like a black, starless expanse of space. There seems to be nothing to build on, no potential. But God’s Spirit is hovering over the scene. With a flash of divine light, God illuminates the darkened heart and mind. With a burst of His divine power, He tears down the old, rotten structures of the life, and makes the person into a completely new creation – a creation full of life and light. (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:17) Over the next days, weeks, months, even years, God grows the newly formed person into a fully formed member of the kingdom of God; mature, powerful, and ready to reproduce themselves in other lives. A person who is just like Jesus, the blueprint that God uses for everyone who comes to Him. (cf. Romans 8:29)
Of course it is difficult for most people (even the one who is being transformed) to see the finished product in the initial stages of growth. And sometimes those involved in the process grow discouraged and give up, aborting the process before it is completed. And the newly formed soul can die before it has a chance to become what God intended it to be. But if all concerned will keep Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) firmly in view through the whole process, then they will be able to remain steadfast, continuing to move forward through every discouragement, through every single backward step, and they will be able to see the finished product shining through in a much shorter time than they would have believed possible.
Father, as one of your new creations, I say a hearty “Amen!” to all of this. When I came to You, I was pretty worthless, even in my own eyes. But in a flash, You changed me from top to bottom, from inside out, in ways that were quickly evident to everyone. And from that foundation, You built me up over the following days, weeks, months, and years, continuing to teach me, to mold me, to shape me into the very image of Your Son. None of this was my doing – my job was to stay close, live in obedience, submit myself to Your work, and never give up. All that I am today is because of You and Your creating, remaking, reshaping power. And I will praise You forever for all You have done in me. Amen.