In the Catechism (the Outline of the Faith) in the Book of Common Prayer, the second section of questions is about God the Father. This follows the first section of the Catechism that explores Human Nature.

The Christian God is Triune, existing as one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And while we could get into a much larger conversation about the Triune nature of God, this conversation explores only the Father-person of the Trinity. While they’ve always been together, each person in the Trinity plays a unique role. And that role tells us a lot about who God is, who we are, and what our relationship with Him is.

And in the spirit of the Catechism, we’re not just looking at the questions and relying on an absolute answer. The Catechism is meant to be the start of a conversation. So as I share the questions and answers from this section, I’m also sharing some of my own thoughts and ideas that have come up in recent conversations.

What do we learn about God as creator from the revelation to Israel?

We learn that there is one God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

In Genesis, we see Got the Father speaking all of Creation into existence. I just got done doing a read-thru of The Magician’s Nephew, part of the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, and I get this picture in my head of Aslan roaring all of Narnia into existence. The words that the Father spoke to create everything in the entire Universe feel more like a lion’s mighty roar as opposed to a mere conversational voice. Regardless, the Creation narrative in Genesis 1 and 2 lays out what brought everything into being, including mankind.

The thing that sticks out to me in this response is that He is the creator “of all that is.” That’s everything. All that exists in the entire Universe was made by Him. And it’s bigger than that. Because we tend then to think merely of the physical world, or all that is seen. But He also created all that is unseen too. And it seems like that idea isn’t just referring to things like the invisible air we breathe. It’s not a stretch to believe that there’s a lot going on (and that exists) that we cannot see.

When I talked about this with a group recently, the idea of ghosts came up. And I’m not going to try to make an argument that ghosts exist or not. Regardless, if they are something that exists, that too was a reality created by God. Is there something going on in a more spirit-realm that we cannot see? I can’t definitively say yes, because I just don’t have physical evidence (despite what I might believe). But I am confident that there are things that I don’t know or see or understand that exist because God created it.

Ultimately, the bottom line is that everything exists because of Him.

What does this mean?

This means that the universe is good, that it is the work of a single loving God who creates, sustains, and directs it.

In the Genesis creation story, we see God creating stuff, then looking over it all and calling it “good.” Sin entered and ruined some things, but we’ll get into that more later (in another section of the Catechism). But God made it all, and He loved (and still loves) everything He made.

And when we see a statement that, “it is the work of a single loving God,” it’s that work loving that stands out to me here. When we explore the idea of the Triune God, we basically see three persons in a relationship wanting to create more to share that kind of love with others. And He loves all of His creation. Then, when He creates man, He creates us in His image, with all of the capacity to love like He does.

Then we see three really interesting words… creates, sustains, and directs. Essentially, He made it all, as if crafted with His own hands. And He sustains all of it, meaning that He is the source of life for everything. And He directs it, which I believe means that He has His hands in fulfilling His will for it all. And we can explore more of this later too, but His will… to love. That’s the motivation behind it all from the very beginning. And love is something that happens in relationship.

God wants and actively pursues a relationship with His creation.

What does this mean about our place in the universe?

It means that the world belongs to its creator; and that we are called to enjoy it and to care for it in accordance with God’s purposes.

We’ve got a job to do here. We are called to care for this Creation.

This was a hot one in a recent conversation. And that’s because it’s become one of the big political talking points. The general idea is that the more liberal side feels that we need to do everything to protect nature. And the more conservative side tends to dismiss arguments about things like man causing global warming. And honestly, I’ve hear both sides make valid, scientifically-based arguments.

But creation care isn’t about being on one side of the argument. It’s about doing what God called us to do in caring for the Garden. He put all of it under our control, and we are responsible to taking care of it.

In the book I co-authored, Activist Faith: From Him and For Him, we have a chapter on environmental care where we make the case that this is something that should be important to Christian. There are big steps we can take, but even little steps like recycling are part of what we should be doing.

But we’re also called to enjoy it. I’ll remember that next time I see a sunset.

What does this mean about human life?

It means that all people are worthy of respect and honor, because all are created in the image of God, and all can respond to the love of God.

I did a study with my youth group not long ago on the five commitments in the Baptismal Covenant. And there’s one of the statements that goes like this…

Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
I will, with God’s help.

And this goes back to the reasoning that we are created in the image of a loving God. It’s easy for us to know that, and understand that for ourselves. But we also need to be able to look at the world around us and know that it’s just as true for every single human being on the planet! It doesn’t matter if I agree with their politics. It doesn’t matter if they look like me or not. It doesn’t matter if they did or said something to hurt me. Every single human being we encounter is also created in the image of a loving God.

That doesn’t mean that every one is going to be perfect. God knows that I’m not! But they also carry the same image. And that means a couple of things. Mainly, they are just as deserving of love as I am. And also that they can respond to the love of God, just as I can. It doesn’t mean that they will. But they can. And it doesn’t make them any less worthy of God love (or mine).

This is a big one. If more of us would start looking at all of the people around us as being worthy of respect and honor, our society would look quite different. It may not be an easy task. But that, my friend, is what the love of God is all about. I know I don’t always make it easy for God, or others, to love me. So I want to make sure I do my best to live up to this standard.

How was this revelation handed down to us?

This revelation was handed down to us through a community created by a covenant with God.

This idea of covenant will certainly get more time in another post. But the key thing here for now is that this is a promise God made to be there for us. And because of that promise, He has made sure that the message gets shared with us so that we can find our way. It all started with a family that grew into a nation. And through that family, we know came one man… the God-Man, the second in the Trinity. And we get more on that one in a later section in the Catechism.

The thing I love about this is that it’s one of the things that shows me that God never gives up on pursuing us. His relentless pursuit of relationship with us is something that seems pretty unique in various religious beliefs. And it’s one of the big things that draws me to Him. So that’s why I love studying the Word of God and exploring what this all means. The more I learn and get to know Him, the more I fall in love.

Final Thoughts on God the Father

This (honestly) simple glimpse into God the Father reveals some important truths about Him, and us. And I’m glad it comes after the section on Human Nature, because I needed to understand my own condition more before I can start to relate to God. But it still feels a little backward to me. Regardless, this glimpse at the Father helps me to understand myself.

I got a visit recently from my own (biological) father. We haven’t always been really close. But that’s mostly geography, not because there’s anything wrong there. And I love it when I get together with him because it gives me a better understanding of who I am. Even though I grew up not close with him, it’s incredible how much alike we are. We stand the same way. We laugh the same way. We make the same stupid jokes.

It’s almost like I’m just a younger twin of my father.

And I feel like it’s the same way with God the Father. The more I get to know who He is, the more I start to understand who I am.

It’s almost like I’m just a younger twin of my Father.