Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” (Isaiah 43:7 KJV)
(Republishing November 21, 2020 Meditation)
In elementary school, the girls went to Home Economics and the boys went to Shop Class. Shop Class; couldn’t they have at least called the class Introduction to Engineering or Construction Basics? Perhaps I would have done better on my assignments and felt more challenged. Be that as it may, one semester we made ashtrays out of clay; creations we could take home for holiday gifts for our parents. I guess this was before the Surgeon General issued a decree that smoking was bad for your health and we were made to be complicit; child accessories in a conspiracy to sanction smoking to several recipients of our clay creations.
Honestly, I did my best to make a good ashtray and I painted it with all the skill I could muster up. Some called it awful, but I called it artistic impression. After the ashtrays had dried, sitting in the classroom window sill facing the northern sun for a few days, we were told to take them with us when we went back to our homeroom. The girls had made some beautiful potholders; created with as many eye-catching colors as Joseph’s coat in the Bible. When a few of them saw my “ashtray,” they asked, “What is that supposed to be?” I responded, “An ashtray.” They concluded the dialogue with, “It does not look like an ashtray.” So much for my creative abilities as it related to “Shop.”
Oh if only I could have had a micro-inch of the creative power of God as I shaped my ashtray. Think of all the intricate characteristics of His creation. Even if you just consider his creation of man’s brain, you just have to marvel at His masterful, creative ability and omniscience. Joseph Patun refers to a quote by Isaac Asimov about the human brain: “The human brain is the most complex and orderly arrangement of matter in the universe.” Mr. Patun goes on to say, “The brain is the center of a complex computer system more wonderful than the greatest one ever built by man. The body’s computer system computes and sends throughout the body billions of bits of information, information that controls every action, right down to the flicker of an eyelid. In most computer systems, the information is carried by wires and electronic parts. In the body, nerves are the wires that carry the information back and forth from the central nervous system. And in just one human brain there is probably more wiring, more electrical circuitry, than in all the computer systems of the world put together. Yes, it is a wonderful thing—this brain of ours.” If only I could have had a micro inch of the creative power of God as I shaped my ashtray.
Let’s change the subject. When you go to worship tomorrow morning, make sure to recognize God’s creative work in making you. Borrow the words of the Psalmist in the closing verse below. Appreciate this part of God’s creation and use your brain to the best of your ability to create an atmosphere of holiness wherever you go today. Fulfill your purpose and give Him the glory! Be blessed!
“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, know that full well.” (Psalm 139:14)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King