Creation [a much better word than “nature”] originally came
into being through the premeditated act of God. Yet the very fact that all of creation
continues to exist today is as much of
a wonder as its first appearance. Creation is not a one-time act of the past,
but a continuing deed of the present. It is not as though God made it all at some
point in the past, and now it functions quite well all on its own, running
according to so-called “natural” laws. Look out your window once again! The present
is as magnificent as the beginning, the very continuing existence of the universe
as awesome as its first appearance. And Christ perpetuates the whole show as we gaze and gawk.
If it were not for the continuing supernatural action of the
creation-sustaining God holding it all together, “nature” would be no more. In terms
of how most people think about the “natural” and the “supernatural,” the “natural”
has come to mean “the normal operation of a self-governing system,” while the “supernatural”
refers to “the interference of God in that system.” Yet Colossians 1:16-17 tells
us: “For by Him [Christ] all things were
created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist [or, ‘hold together’].”
Sometimes the Lord does things in an out-of-the-ordinary way, such as raising Lazarus from the dead. We call this a “miracle.” But
we must not draw the faulty conclusion that God is present in the miracle but stands
on the sidelines during the ordinary times. He
is equally present in both.
The
fact that God created all matter in the beginning is just as awesome as the fact
He is right now holding it all together. Right now! He is sustaining our very
breath. Apart from His continuing to hold the very atoms of our bodies together,
we would fall in a heap on the floor and disappear. In fact, we would disappear
before we hit the floor. Both we and the floor are wholely dependent on Him.
That's wholism 101.
That's wholism 101.
