Daily Ornament

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK

Daily Ornament!
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” – Colossians 1:15-20
,br /> One of the most powerful poems ever written with a biblical theme was James Weldon Johnson’s poem, Creation. It originally appeared in print in The Book of American Negro Poetry, edited by Johnson and published by Harcourt, Brace and Company in 1922. Here is the opening verse:

And God stepped out on space, And He looked around and said, “I’m lonely—I’ll make me a world.” And far as the eye of God could see Darkness covered everything, Blacker than a hundred midnights Down in a cypress swamp.
I’ve never been “down in a cypress swamp” at midnight, but I believe Johnson when he said that it was “blacker than a hundred midnights” when “darkness covered everything.” That’s what faced God when Creation began—darkness! And what changed darkness into light? Here is how Johnson described it:
Then God smiled, And the light broke, And the darkness rolled up on one side, And the light stood shining on the other, And God said, ‘That’s good!’

I wonder what God thinks when he reflects on his world today and examines the plight of families and nations. Would he say, “That’s good”? or would he ask, “What have you done with my Creation?” “Regret” is not a description of God that can be found in the biblical record. But “grief” is. In Genesis 6:6 are these words: “The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain.” The King James Version translates the word “grieved” as, “it repented the Lord.”
Did God become “repentant” because of something He had done? Did God change his mind about having created humankind? Not at all. He grieved because of something human beings had done. Would he be grieved today at what nations have done to the world that brought a smile to his face originally? I believe he would. If that is the case, what do we need to do to create the right kind of change in our nation and world? This often-quoted verse in 2nd Chronicles says it very well:
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” – 2nd Chronicles 7:14
Here is how Johnson concludes his poem:

Up from the bed of the river God scooped the clay; And by the bank of the river He kneeled Him down; And there the great God Almighty—Who lit the sun and fixed it in the sky, Who flung the stars to the most far corner of the night, Who rounded the earth in the middle of His hand; This Great God, Like a mammy bending over her baby, Kneeled down in the dust—Toiling over a lump of clay Till He shaped it in His own image; Then into it He blew the breath of life, And man became a living soul. Amen. Amen.,BR /> What will it take to be re-created by God? There are many who are broken and are in need of God’s power to be “re-created” into His glorious image. Let him blow the breath of life into your soul. He is ready.
Pastor J. T. Carnell.