The Apostles' Creed (part three)

I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).

The very first verse of the Bible declares, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. This verse is the basis for the opening sentence of the Apostles’ Creed: "I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth." The teaching of our faith is that God created everything—all that you can see as well as all that you cannot see.

But although God created everything, not all things are equally important. Last week I noted that the most important invisible things are God’s holy angels. Today we turn our attention to the most important thing in God’s visible creation. I’m not speaking of mountains, although they are certainly majestic. I’m not speaking of the oceans or forests, although life on earth could not survive without them. I am not speaking of flowers, birds, cats or dogs, although they bring much pleasure to our lives. I am not speaking of the sun, moon or stars, even though we need their light to go about our business. The most important aspect of God’s visible creation is humankind—meaning you and me. We are the pinnacle of God’s creative power—and so the psalmist rejoices, saying: I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

The first chapter of Genesis tells us that when God wanted light, He simply said "Let there be light." When He made the earth, the forests, the animals and the heavenly bodies, He simply said "Let there be…" and they came into existence at His command. But when He created man, the most important of all visible creatures, God sculpted some earth into a body and breathed into it a soul, personally giving life to the first human being. Man was fearfully made—made with care and attention to detail.

Humans are different from all other things that God made in another way as well. On the sixth day, listen what the Triune God decided as Father, Son and Holy Spirit conferred together: Let us make man in our image, in our likeness. Only mankind was made in the image of God; only humans were made to be like Him. This doesn’t mean that Adam was a god. He didn’t know everything, nor could he be everywhere at the same time. But God created man with a soul, with the ability to communicate with God and appreciate what God had given him. In all of visible creation, only mankind sings praises to God. Perhaps a songbird can sing more beautifully than you can, but that bird sings mindlessly—you sing praises to God.

Originally, man knew God perfectly and was perfect in both his thoughts and conduct; as a result, God and man lived in perfect peace and harmony. But this harmonious relationship with God was lost when our ancestors sinned. By rebelling against God’s leadership, they created a situation where it has become impossible for anyone to think like God or share His priorities; in fact, our souls are so distorted by sin that even the idea of loving and respecting God seems strange and otherworldly. This terrible change resulted in our first parents being banished from paradise, and ever since we have been banished from paradise as well—locked out because we are sinful instead of holy, fearful instead of trusting, ignorant instead of knowledgeable, suspicious of God instead of wanting to spend time with Him.

And yet God in His mercy made it possible for us to regain all that has been lost. It took a tremendous amount of love and effort for our Lord to bring us this opportunity. To restore what was lost, God our loving Father sent His Son Jesus into this world. The people in the street rejected Him, the soldiers spit in His face and beat Him, the governor sentenced Him to death, the guards nailed Him to the cross, the religious leaders made fun of Him, and God the Father turned His back on Him—all this Jesus went through and much, much more, in order that we might be reconciled to God. Jesus suffered unimaginably to offer us forgiveness and open the gates of paradise to us once more.

Of course, we aren’t living in paradise yet, nor are we completely free of sin and living a life of perfect harmony with God. As Luther pointed out, we are at the same time both saints and sinners—saints because we are totally forgiven through Jesus’ blood, sinners because we are still filled with evil desires that continually erupt in words and deeds that rouse God’s anger. That’s why, as long as we live in this world, we will never be perfectly at peace with God. But don’t let that depress you. Jesus has settled our debt of sin with God. He has overcome death, defeated the devil, and assured us of heaven instead of hell. When we finally heed the Savior’s call and leave this life, He will make us holy as God is holy, and we will be able to enjoy God’s loving presence just as Adam and Eve did in the very beginning.

I am fearfully and wonderfully made. This applies not just to our souls, but to our bodies as well. We live in a society that is obsessed with looks; by the standards of Hollywood, few of us would think of ourselves as beautiful. But you are still an amazing creation of God! Consider what your body can do. Without any thought on your part, your lungs draw air and your heart pumps blood every minute of your life. Your fingers and thumbs are designed to let you climb a tree, type at a keyboard, fix a piece of machinery, or thrill to the touch of a lover’s hand in yours. You can think—you can write poetry, create a budget, make plans for the future, study the Bible. Your body is an amazingly complex organism, yet you have the ability to make more human beings through the simple act of sharing your love with your spouse. You are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Because of this, the psalmist says I will praise You. He didn’t believe in evolution. If someone told him that men and women are only accidents of nature, he would have laughed at such foolishness. He knew that his Maker was God. And when you know that God made you personally, you cannot help but have a heart filled with praise. But how should we praise God for making us as the unique, special individuals that we are?

First of all, you can praise God by worshipping Him. This is why we sing in church—because God appreciates our voices lifted to Him in joyful gratitude.

We also praise God by how we use the minds he gave us. Medical science has proven that the first step in treating a patient is by treating the mind. People who are depressed are easy prey to illness. People with hope in their hearts and a drive to get better can overcome even the toughest of ailments. Jesus makes this point when He says in Matthew chapter six, Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? The fact of the matter is that worrying can eat away at your health, actually shortening your life.

Paul tells us that our bodies are temples for the Spirit of God. In order to maintain these flesh and blood temples properly, we need to start by keeping our minds healthy. Paul says, Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2). Working through God’s Word, the Holy Spirit can remove fear, guilt and insecurity, along with many other thoughts that cripple both the mind and the body.

In gratitude for His work on our behalf, we should train our minds to serve Christ more effectively. This training includes listening in Sunday school and studying to be confirmed; it continues with a life-long commitment to spending time immersed in God’s Word, whether it be in worship, Bible study or private devotions. At the same time, we must be careful to avoid polluting our minds with ideas that turn our thoughts away from God. We are constantly bombarded with messages from magazines, TV, music and the Internet that encourage destructive and hurtful behavior. But sex is not the greatest pleasure in life; divorce is not the answer to marital problems; living together outside of marriage is not the solution to loneliness. You can not find lasting satisfaction through career advancement or looking good, nor can you smother the pain in your soul by getting wasted or going shopping. To survive mentally, we need to use the Bible to change the way we think—to develop godly attitudes in our children and to maintain a healthy mind in the midst of a perverse and selfish society that worships man while ignoring God.

Someone has said that we take better care of our property than we do our own bodies. We are careful to only put the right type of oil and fuel in our vehicles, yet do we show the same care when choosing what to eat and drink to refuel our bodies? We respect the limits of a washing machine by not overloading it, but are we careful to not overwork our bodies?

Scripture condemns laziness—but it also condemns working too much. Remember what the Catechism says about the Fifth Commandment? You shall not kill tells us that we are not to hurt or harm our neighbor’s body, nor are we to hurt or harm our own body. There are many people who push themselves and others beyond what a healthy body can stand. Such people need to ask themselves why they do this. Is it pride? Is it a desire for money in order to buy more stuff? Is it a lack of trust that God will provide when human endurance has reached its limit?

Overindulgence of any kind is harmful to the body. The Bible in particular speaks about compulsive overeating, drunkenness and casual sex as sinful behavior that harms both body and soul. Our world constantly demands the freedom to do whatever we want, whenever we want, however we want. But we would rather crucify these sinful desires on the cross of Christ, because we appreciate the wonderful body our Lord has given us. Besides, who wants to go through life in a body crippled by abuse and poisoned by mistreatment?

God created us for a reason; Ephesians chapter two says, we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. Paul urges us in Romans chapter one, offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. If I asked you how you can serve God, I imagine the answers I would hear would include ‘going to church, praying, singing hymns, putting an offering in the plate, reading the Bible.’ These are all good answers, but they don’t go far enough. First Corinthians chapter ten says: whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. A farmer can serve God by raising food; a cook can serve God by using that food to nourish His children with a balanced diet. A doctor can serve God by treating the sick; a mechanic can serve God by keeping the doctor’s car running. A lineman for the power company can serve God by providing the electricity needed for Sunday morning worship, while the manager of a radio station can serve God by broadcasting that service to shut-ins. Whether you are student or teacher, husband or wife, parent or child, plumber or accountant, if you do your work well and dedicate it to God, you serve the Lord just as surely as does any preacher, organist, or Sunday School teacher.

You are fearfully and wonderfully made; may you praise God for His goodness by using your mind and body to serve Him in all ways and at all times with gladness.