What Did God Make? Discovering Our Purpose in God’s Creation | Basics Part 3
At Open Arms Community Church in Bradford, PA, our Basics series explores the foundational questions of the Christian faith. In this message, Assistant Pastor Dan Robinson tackles one of the most important questions we can ask: What did God make? As we return to the opening chapters of Genesis, we discover that God created everything—and that the same God who made the universe made each of us intentionally, lovingly, and with purpose.
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Sometimes the deepest truths are also the simplest.
If a room full of children were asked who made the world, they would answer without hesitation: “God did.” Ask them who made the stars. “God did.” Ask who made the animals. “God did.” And if asked who made them, they would smile and answer the same way: “God did.”
Simple answers.
Yet life has a way of complicating simple truths. We get busy. We go to work. We raise families. We pay bills. We experience loss. We carry burdens. Before long, we stop marveling at the truths that once filled us with wonder.
Today is an invitation to return to one of the most foundational truths of our faith:
God made everything.
Not just the universe.
Not just the oceans and mountains.
God made you.
And when we truly understand that truth, it changes the way we see God, the way we see ourselves, and the way we live our lives.
Scripture begins with these words:
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
Genesis 1:1–2
Before there was light, there was God.
Before there were stars, there was God.
Before there were mountains, rivers, oceans, planets, galaxies, or even time itself, there was God.
The Bible does not spend time trying to prove God’s existence. It simply declares Him.
Everything begins with God.
Genesis tells us that the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the deep, and yet the Spirit of God was present. Then God began to speak.
“Let there be light.”
And there was light.
He separated land from sea. He placed the sun, moon, and stars in the heavens. He filled the waters with living creatures and the skies with birds. Every part of creation came into existence because God commanded it.
The writer of Hebrews reminds us:
By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.
Hebrews 11:3
Think about that for a moment.
Every mountain range.
Every ocean.
Every forest.
Every sunset.
Every star in the night sky.
Every breath you take.
Every heartbeat inside your chest.
All of it exists because God spoke.
The universe is not here because of chance. It is not the result of some cosmic accident. It is not a random collection of matter that somehow organized itself into beauty and order.
There is intention behind creation because there is a Creator behind creation.
Sometimes we become so familiar with the world around us that we stop noticing how remarkable it really is. We walk outside and barely notice a sunrise. We hear birds singing and think nothing of it. We see the changing colors of autumn or the first blooms of spring and simply move on with our day.
Yet creation is constantly proclaiming the glory of God.
The stars declare His greatness.
The mountains declare His strength.
The oceans declare His power.
Everything points back to its Creator.
As the psalmist writes:
The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
Psalm 19:1–4
And that matters because if God created everything intentionally, then life itself has meaning.
If creation was intentional, then your existence is intentional.
If God created the world with purpose, then He created you with purpose.
When God finished His work, Scripture says:
Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day.
Genesis 1:31
So the creation of the heavens and the earth and everything in them was completed. On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation. This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth. When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens,
Genesis 2:1–4God did not look at creation and call it acceptable.
He did not say it was merely functional.
He looked at everything He had made and declared it very good.
The world was not originally created broken. It was not created with suffering, hatred, disease, or death. God created beauty. God created harmony. God created goodness.
Sometimes we look at the brokenness around us and forget that this is not how God designed things to be.
The world we experience today is not the world God first created.
Imagine a beautiful painting hanging in a gallery. Nobody assumes paint accidentally splashed itself onto a canvas. Instead, they admire the artist. They appreciate the creativity, the detail, and the skill that went into it.
Creation works the same way.
Every beautiful thing points us back to the One who made it.
The more we learn about the world, the more amazing it becomes. Scientists continue to discover incredible complexity in the human body, in nature, and throughout the universe. Yet every discovery reveals more evidence of God’s wisdom.
Creation is not simply evidence of power.
It is evidence of design.
It is evidence of purpose.
It is evidence of a Creator who delights in beauty.
But then Genesis reaches a turning point.
After creating the heavens and the earth, after creating the oceans and animals, God does something different.
Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:26–27
Notice that God never says this about anything else in creation.
Not the stars.
Not the mountains.
Not the oceans.
Not the animals.
Only humanity.
Only men and women are created in the image of God.
This means there is something uniquely valuable about human life.
We are not merely another part of creation.
We can reason.
We can create.
We can communicate.
We can love.
We can worship.
Most importantly, we can know God personally.
The God who spoke galaxies into existence desires a relationship with people.
With you.
With me.
Every human being carries value because every human being bears the image of God.
Your worth is not determined by success, wealth, intelligence, influence, appearance, or accomplishment.
Your worth comes from the fact that God made you.
Long before you earned a paycheck.
Long before you received a degree.
Long before anyone knew your name.
God knew you.
God loved you.
God created you.
The psalmist beautifully reminds us:
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.
Psalm 139:13–14
You are not an accident.
You are not random.
You are not a mistake.
You were intentionally created by God.
The same God who formed the mountains formed you.
The same God who filled the oceans filled your lungs with breath.
The same God who hung the stars in the sky knows your name.
And if God created you intentionally, then He created you for a reason.
That leads to an important question:
Why did God make us?
What is our purpose?
Why are we here?
Jesus helps us answer that question.
As He traveled from town to town teaching, preaching, and healing, He looked at the crowds with compassion because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Most people saw a crowd.
Jesus saw individuals.
Most people saw problems.
Jesus saw people.
Most people saw interruptions.
Jesus saw souls.
Then Jesus said:
“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”
In other words, there are people everywhere who need hope. There are people everywhere who need truth. There are people everywhere who need someone to point them toward God.
The God who created humanity now invites humanity into His work.
He could do everything Himself.
Instead, He chooses to work through people.
Ordinary people.
People like His disciples.
People like us.
The Christian life was never meant to be merely attending church services and then returning to normal life.
The Christian life is about joining God in His mission.
We are called to love people.
We are called to serve others.
We are called to reflect Christ to the world around us.
That is part of why we were created.
We were not created merely to survive.
We were not created merely to work.
We were created to know God and help others know Him too.
Jesus sent His followers into the world with purpose:
Throughout Scripture, God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.
Fishermen.
Tax collectors.
Laborers.
Imperfect people with doubts and fears.
The power was never in the people.
The power has always been in God.
The same God who spoke creation into existence is still working through His people today.
That means your life matters.
Every act of kindness matters.
Every prayer matters.
Every word of encouragement matters.
Every opportunity to serve someone matters.
Because the Creator still works through His creation.
As we come to the end, perhaps the invitation is to return to childlike wonder.
Jesus said:
But Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”
Matthew 19:14
The next time you see a sunrise, remember who painted it.
The next time you stand beneath a sky full of stars, remember who hung them there.
The next time you hear birds singing, remember who taught them their song.
The next time you walk through the woods or stand beside a river, remember who designed every detail.
And the next time you look into a mirror, remember this:
The same God who made the stars made you.
The same God who formed the mountains formed you.
The same God who filled the oceans filled your lungs with breath.
The same God who created the universe knows your name.
You are not forgotten.
You are not insignificant.
You are not random.
You are not an accident.
You are a creation of Almighty God.
Created intentionally.
Created lovingly.
Created purposefully.
Because God made you, your life has meaning.
Because God made you, your life has value.
Because God made you, your life has purpose.
And God does not make mistakes.
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