“Do I Matter?
“Do I Matter?”
Genesis 1:1-2:4
Genesis 1:1-2:4
In his book Vanishing Grace, Christian author Philip Yancey tells the story of an African American slave named Old Elizabeth who came to faith at age 97. In her conversion story she tells of the great struggle in rising from the darkness of a life of one beaten down as a subhuman piece of property. And why did she finally embrace the faith of her oppressive slave owners? She nonetheless found in Christianity a sense of somebodiness – of worth. Moreover, I was reminded of this when a lady came into my office and asked me point blank one of those highfalutin questions philosophers talk about that no one has ever asked of me before. What’s this life all about? It’s one of those existential questions where she’s wanting to know: What difference does my existence make? Do I matter?
For this lady, like Old Elizabeth, it was that same struggle to find a sense of worth. Personally, all of us have had to deal with a measure of it while growing up – Hey Lardo, four eyes, tinsel teeth, big ears, etc., etc. You’ve all had to deal with the put downs along the way, but it goes beyond this. It’s the challenge facing multitudes in our culture where a secular mindset dominates – no God, no absolute truth, no afterlife exists. Atheism’s greatest defender, Richard Dawkins, says that all we see is a world of no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind pitiless indifference. According to pop science guy, Bill Nye, we are just a speck on a speck, orbiting among other specks. We emerged from microbes and muck. Carl Sagan declared that we find ourselves in a bottomless freefall … lost in a great darkness, and there’s no one to send out a search party. Try to find a sense of worth with that kind of thinking.
And they are right, of course, in a world without God. We don’t matter. We are cosmic junk, yet no one really believes this deep inside. Solomon said that God has set eternity in our hearts. That’s why scientists who dare not mention God or a Designer speak instead of the “anthropic principle” evident in creation. Anthropic comes from the Greek “Anthropos” meaning man. This means that scientists who deny intelligent design in the cosmos see the wonders of the world and recognize, as a physicist Freeman Dyson has said, ‘The universe knew we were coming.” Those who know the universe best, those who deny God the Father, but speak of the wonders of Mother Nature, recognize that the universe does not seem like a random crapshoot but instead is downright purposeful in providing a mankind friendly environment.
So, this is a good starting point for the multitudes of people who are seeking a greater sense of worth – right in Genesis chapter one. God went to great lengths to create a world to enjoy. Contrary to Richard Dawkins’ world of non-design and blind, pitiless indifference, we find that nature is exquisitely fine-tuned for the possibility of life. There are 37 parameters and one of them has to do with the force of gravity. To adjust the laws of gravity up or down by one percent, and the universe would collapse upon itself. Another is the expansion of the universe. When discovered that if it was expanding, and then extrapolating backwards – there must have been a beginning and with it a first cause – God. It caused Einstein to believe that there was a God and He didn’t play dice when He created the universe.
Then further, contrary to pagan views of the creation as a by-product of the gods through warfare, we see in Genesis 1 that creation is deliberate and planned. In the first four days, as you just heard read, God created the physical infrastructure of His creation – the galaxies and the earth with its sun and moon in sky and also the land with vegetation. Then, on days 5 & 6, He created the living creatures – birds, fish, land animals and humans to inhabit the three realms of the earth. Scientists have estimated that our natural world contains 8.7 million species, out of which only 1.6 million (20%) have been officially identified. How did this happen? The phrase, “and God said,” dominates the creation account, pointing to our creative and powerful God Who literally spoke these mind-boggling natural diversities into existence for us. Yes, the Bible depicts a world created for us that is brimming with dynamic, abundant forms of life – perfectly interwoven, interdependent, and enhancing and enriching for us. His response was delight. He keeps repeating that it is good. After creating our first parents, He instructs them and us, their descendants, to continue to cultivate and draw out the vase resources like a gardener does in the garden. “Keep it going” He seems to be saying, “Have a ball!”
So, when it comes to all of us, to one extent or another, looking for a grater sense of worth, God went to great length to create a world for us to enjoy. Every day there was His stamp of approval – It was good. But there’s more as He further answers that question, “Do I matter?” in a very personal way through a final stamp of approval.
Yes, to highlight it, I have to share with you one of the short stories from Lutheran pastor, Walt Wangerin’s book, Miz Lil and the Chronicles of Grace. Wangerin relates an incident when he was a child. He had just lost his beloved grandfather to cancer and one day his mother approached him with a sort of gladness and exclaimed, “Wally, Wally – you are the spittin image of your grandpa.” Afterwards Wangerin, the child, began to wonder what the “spit” was. His grandfather chewed tobacco. Was his mother equating him somehow to the dark stuff grandpa expelled after chewing his quid for a while? How was the sensitive, questioning lad to put a positive spin on that?
Then Wangerin fast forwarded 27 years. He was by this time a Lutheran pastor in Evansville, Indiana where one of his parishioners was Musetta Bias. Musetta was a longtime Lutheran, but possessed none of the stern German rectitude of many for she was black. Her love, Wangerin observed, had no rough edges. Musetta had just lost her husband and as they were talking the lady spoke of her son and said, “Arthur Junior is the spittin image of his daddy.” And Wangerin nearly lunged at the woman, “What did you say? Did you say spittin?” Taken aback, Musetta said it again: “Arthur Junior is the spittin image of his daddy.”
Then, after 27 years, Wangerin finally got it. Musetta had a lot of southern blood in her – where in that language there is an eliding of syllables, swallowing “r’s” in the process. Spee-it is spirit, not the spittin we often make it out to be. Arthur Jr. possessed the spirit, character, the force of his father’s being dwelling in him.
Are you someone who is of worth and importance? I don’t want you to miss the significance of the simple statement from verse 27; “God created man in his own image.” At the core of our beings lies a mark, God’s final stamp of approval where he says of our creation – not good, but very good. What does this mean? This mark built into our natures makes us humans – not just creatures. Thus, we are not kin to apes, but kin to God Himself. Further, this means that every person who has ever lived or died on this planet bears something beautiful at their core – a beauty that can never be lost or taken. We are God’s image bearers, and it’s the reason why we are not free to treat each other as animals. It’s why we have those “inalienable” rights of life and liberty as mentioned in the Declaration of Independence – all of us created equal.
So, when in your down times, when you struggle with a sense of worth remember the beautiful truth: God made us to reflect His character – in wisdom, love, grace, kindness, moral sensibility, intellectual ability, and the spiritual dimension that enables us to relate to Him. We have profound value and worth. We were designed for a beautiful purpose, but I also have to tell you something everyone knows. We are all too aware that the world is broken and we are beautiful yet broken. Sin has disfigured us. We all know it all too well. Our moral purity has been tainted. Our intellect is polluted by what is foolish. The image of God is sometimes difficult to discern.
Yet, though sin has distorted this image, it has not destroyed it. We bear the handprint of the Divine Maker. We take after Him in many ways and the New Testament teaches God’s progressive work to shape us into His image. Galatians tells us that we are adopted, Ephesians that we are His workmanship, and Philippians promises that He will bring to completion His good work of conforming us into the image of Christ. In fact, Jesus has become our new mirror as the one reflecting the image of God and St. John promises that we will be like Him. How can we doubt our worth to God, Jesus said, are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one falls to the ground apart from your Father, but the very hairs on your head are numbered. So do not fear; you are more value than many sparrows. (Matt. 10:29-31) We have imprinted on us the final stamp of approval – the 7th good of Genesis 1 but in this case very good. We are His handiwork and to me there is that great promise from Isaiah 49 that accentuates His love:
Can a woman forget her nursing young, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands.
How can we doubt our worth? This passage takes us to the sacrificial love of our Savior at the cross and the marks of the nails. In the eyes of God, you were worth dying for. You are on His Handprint. Your name is on His Hand – the mark showing His love as He bled and died for you that You might share with Him life in the Resurrection where there is rebirth, restoration – beautiful and broken no more.