God – A Relational Community of Creative Love and Grace.

The numbers and size are mind-blowing and overwhelming! I feel very small when I 
contemplate the vastness of what is. I can’t comprehend the complexity, the mystery, and 
the wonder of the universe.   – Geoff Stevenson 
I love reading something of this complex mystery of the cosmos. Black holes, dark 
space and dark matter, supernovae, dwarf stars, solar systems and much more hold me in 
wonder. Scientists speak of the variety of forces and particles that comprise the universe. 
Some we understand and can measure but several are theorised, used to explain what is 
observed and measured but remaining hidden, mysterious and unknown.   
The universe is a vast, mysterious reality that is fascinating and mind-blowing in its 
complexity and wonder. Equally the world around us, that which we can see, feel, smell, 
touch and taste, is incredibly complex and beautiful. As I walked this morning, I looked 
around at the trees, diverse and beautiful. I noticed the ground with grass and bare earth. I 
wondered about the soil that existed under the grass, a complex combination of humus, 
nutrients, decaying matter, other elements and compounds, micro-organisms and little 
creatures all doing their thing to make this ‘stuff’ the life-giving substance in which we 
grow food and plants. The local creek has so much life and activity that I fail to notice. 
Reeds and mangroves filter the water and provide a zone important to the life of the 
creek/river. Micro-organisms break down organic matter and other organisms ingest much 
of this as the food chain moves upwards. In the sky above my head there are clouds of 
beauty and strange shape. The air is filled with all manner of particles and molecules, some 
good and others unhealthy. Sadly, the unhealthy components are growing in number all 
the time. Certain compounds are warming the earth as we liberate carbon stored in vast 
reserves of coal, oil and fossil fuels and emit it into the atmosphere once again.  The colour 
of the clouds changes as I sit and watch. They are growing dark in the western sky – 
perhaps the promised rain is on the way? The sun continues to shine through, warming the 
earth and my back, creating a beautiful morning in which to ponder life and God. 
Where is God in all of this? There are scientists that are agnostic or atheist and others 
that are people of faith. In the work of science, they write with passion and sometimes 
beauty, but their work is careful to avoid any sense of metaphysics or philosophy, not 
seeking answers to the questions of faith and the like. As I read this material, I am 
fascinated by its beauty, but I also realise that something is missing. It can feel dry and a 
little remote from me and my life and who I am. I am more than a bunch of atoms and 
molecules at the whim of forces that are variously described by science. I am more than a 
series of chemical reactions or biological processes. I am more than a logical series of 
events, reactions and physical dynamics proceeding according to the laws of the universe. 
I am, of course, all of this but not this alone. 
As I wandered and pondered, I thought about the complex emotions involved in our 
relationships and the reactions we have to each other. I listened to bird sound and watched 
dogs romp, play and chase each other, interacting with each other and the humans 
watching on. These observations touched me and affected me at some non-physical level. 
As I looked at the grass and the dirt and soil, I realised that in some mysterious but very 
real way I am related to that matter. The atoms and molecules that make up our bodies has 
been part of the earth and universe for millennia. The water I drank this morning has been 
in rivers, oceans, clouds, industrial systems, other humans and animals for many, many 
years. The relationship is deeper, than just sharing molecules and atoms. I am connected 
and dependent upon other parts of the universe for my life and being, my existence. When 
I do something here in my miniscule corner of the earth there are implications for other 
places and people. I don’t exist in isolation from everything else and I can’t separate myself 
away from everything and everyone. 
I pondered the words I’d read earlier from Genesis 1 and Psalm 8 (2 of this week’s 
readings). Both are about creation, and both are Hebrew poetry filled with beauty, wonder 
and relational joy. In the Genesis story, the ‘Seven Days of Creation,’ there is this beautiful 
unfolding of creative expression. Everything flows out from the creative Word expressed 
by God. This poetic account is often ruined when it is either compared to science or taken 
literally as an historical, scientific account. Neither does justice to the beauty, wonder and 
truth that this beautiful poetry expresses. In it we hear of God who is the very source and 
essence of life and being, who holds all things in relational grace and love (‘In God we 
live and move and have our being,’ says Paul in Acts 17).  I imagined a universe exploding 
into wondrous existence as God dreamed and spoke – the Big Bang of Divine Love at the 
heart of all things. I imagined an expanding universe bursting with possibility and 
potential. I imagined the quiet of chaos and the gentle wind of God’s Spirit hovering with 
creative intent until order and beauty sprang forth. I imagined the waters and land finding 
their place under the dome of the sky, with stars and planets in their orbits and flight. I 
imagined the daily rhythms of night and day and the steady flourishing of plants and 
vegetation. Then sea creatures in the vast depths moving onto land in the forms of ancient 
beasts and reptiles. Birds grew their wings and took flight and animals of great diversity 
found their place on the dry earth. I thought of the interactions, the web of life that holds 
everything in relationship and provides order and diversity. I pondered the beauty and 
danger of humans in this complex web and the potential for the great imbalance if greed, 
power and abuse take too great a hold on these delicate systems of beauty and wonder. 
I imagined God gleefully enjoying the beauty and surprises of creation. Puppies 
licking, kittens meowing, and the joy of people loving each other and sharing life, enjoying 
the wonder and living peacefully with one another and God. I recognised that God is love 
and holds everything in love and grace – whether we appreciate that or reject it. What a 
beautiful story, a wonderful poem and a gracious God at the heart of all things!   
We understand God, the Trinity, as a relational community of Love out of which flows 
life, hope, love, joy, and being in creative wonder. This God is with us, in us, around us 
and constantly renewing, loving and reconciling all things – into Love!