Chapter 2

The second chapter of Engaging God’s World talks about Creation what that means to us. I thought it very interesting how Plantinga describes creation as neither an accident nor a necessity but and act fitting to God’s characteristics. God’s very nature is to be in a relationship, as he shares the perfect relationship within himself in the trinity. Reading this, I was reminded of the passage in the Bible that says “God is love.” I can see clearer now how this verse makes sense. God is love, because his entire being is in a perfect love relationship.

I think it’s a great observation that humans are the most dependent in all of creation. The planets don’t cease to exist if humans cease to exist. The humans can’t live without animals, but animals won’t die out without humans. As a matter of fact, they will probably flourish more without humans. Knowing this, we can see the world in a more humble perspective, that we are not as superior and in control as we think we are. But more importantly, knowing that we are naturally more dependant beings should lead us to become more supportive of each other. The fact that there are so many possible things that can happen to us that we can’t do anything about should help us turn to God more than ever before. The existence of these planets that we are so dependent on is something that is totally beyond our scale of control. We cannot control our lives. God is the one who can.

This leads to one of Plantinga’s point that the nature is the stage for God not ours. We often make the mistake of thinking that we are the main characters in this stage called Nature, but in reality, God is the one that nature points to. This world is meant for God to be magnified through everything in it.

Although this may not have a whole lot to do with the main flow of ideas in this chapter, this quote in the reading by Henri Nouwen stuck out to me. He said,

“When we have met our Lord in the silent intimacy of our prayer, then we will also meet him… in the market, and in the town square. But when we have not met him in the center of our own hearts, we cannot expect to meet him in the busyness of our daily lives.”

It is interesting that so many people think the opposite way. They think that we can talk to God anywhere, as we walk, work, and live our daily lives. Although this can be true, the key thing is often forgotten, and that is to have Christ truly at the center of our hearts. It is so crucial to have a designated quite time alone with God to be able to communicate with him throughout the day. When Jesus talked about prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, he never talked about communicating within the business and the chaos of life, but he talks about finding a designated place away from people in order to pray to God. This key aspect of pray is often overlooked by Christians.