Human beings were, and are, God’s most profound and magnificent creations on earth. It’s difficult to even try to imagine the love, affection, and engineering that went into the “human being project”. In the creation process, some of the human’s systems were utilized and adapted from systems engineered for previous projects in the earlier phases of creation. But there were oh, so many new and totally unique features:
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
God then said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground – everything that has a breath of life in it – I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. (Gen. 1:26-30 NIV)
Many of the features of the humans were designed to allow the individual to function in the world of created nature. In that sense, the humans resembled other less sophisticated species that required food, rest, drinkable water, and reproduction desires and appropriate reproduction facilities. Those standard features placed humans in the earthly realm and subjected them, like other mammals, to inhabit the phenomenon known as “time”.
But there was something totally different about the “human project”. The Godhead longed for fellowship, communication, expression, adoration, and worship. “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.” That meant something spiritual – not just earthy. That meant something eternal.
So, the humans were created with such functions as the mind: that element that processes reasoning, thinking, perceiving, and even judging.
Humans were also created with the function of emotions: that element and capacity designed for experiencing feelings such as love, fear, hate, sorrow, or even friendship and comradery.
God also created the humans with the function of the will, or volition: that amplitude allowing the choosing of a desired alternative. This feature was extraordinary and revolutionary. God not only gave the “human creation” the prerogative and leniency to choose what he wanted to eat, or when he wanted to cross the road, (like other animals) but in fact, created him as a “free moral agent.” Man could choose even whether he was going to obey God – or not! God already knew that if there was not such a thing as “free moral agency” regarding the will, there could never be true, voluntary, and willing adoration, spiritual comradery or worship.
God desired our love and worship too much to destroy it by demanding it. God is willing to repeatedly give us insights and understanding as he patiently woos us in his attempt to persuade us how much he loves us. He invites us to love, honor, and worship him only if we really choose to – or not!
Without free moral agency the created object would be nothing more than a pine tree with its noble spires reaching up toward the God that created it; or a cute little chicken that is required to take a drink of water, then lift its beak heavenward in order to swallow the water. God was seriously interested in creating more than robotic worshippers. He desired his highest creations to want to, on purpose, more than anything else, communicate with and worship him. If they honored, loved, and obeyed God – that was good. The “or not” part – was evil.
With all the special attention and heavenly creativity that went into the design and production of the “human project”, one would think that the humans would have realized their special, historically unique position and responded with humble appreciation and extreme watchfulness in attitudes and actions. But no! In fact, human beings have been so delinquent and contrary, regarding their favored position, that their actions have confused even the community of human beings as a whole!
Humans have been a mystery even to themselves - and each other, individually - for a long time. Humans have even directed their questions and lack of understanding straight to God, hoping they might get some satisfying answers:
When I look up into the night skies and see the work of your fingers – the moon and the stars you have made – I cannot understand how you can bother with mere puny man, to pay any attention to him! (Ps. 8: 3-9 TLB)
The human individual’s unappreciative and rebellious responses, and their seeming propensity to choose evil ways instead of God’s ways, has, at times, even deeply disappointed God himself:
When the Lord God saw the extent of human wickedness, and that the trend and direction of men’s lives were only towards evil, he was sorry he had made them. It broke his heart. And he said, “I will blot out from the face of the earth all mankind that I created. Yes, and the animals too, and the reptiles and the birds. For I am sorry I made them.” (Gen. 6:5-7 TLB)
Indeed, except for Noah, his family, and a boatload of representative species, God wiped out the human being bunch and started over afresh.
It is hard to even imagine the price God has been willing to pay for positive, spiritual, and eternal relationships with his humans. The “human being project” was not the first attempt to establish a positive relationship with created beings.
In reading together, the opening phrases of the Genesis account of earth’s creation, my saintly uncle, Dr. Chester Mulder, would go through the verses with me:
When God began creating the heavens and the earth, the earth was at first a shapeless, chaotic mass, with the Spirit of God brooding over the dark vapors. Then God said, “Let there be light. . .” (Gen. 1:1-2 TLB).
He would then look up at me and say, “Jimmy, for what possible reason could the forever God of all eternity be ‘brooding’ over the chaotic mass and the dark waters of what we would come to know as our earth?”
Well, it didn’t take much research to find the clues.
Then there was a war in heaven; Michael and the angels under his command fought the Dragon and his hosts of fallen angels. And the Dragon lost the battle and was forced from heaven. This great Dragon – the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world – was thrown down onto the earth with all his army. (Rev. 12:7-9 TLB)
How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground – mighty though you were against the nations of the world. For you said to yourself “I will ascend to heaven and rule the angels. I will take the highest throne.” (Isa. 14:12 TLB)
You were the perfection of wisdom and beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; your clothing was bejeweled with every precious stone -- . . . They were given to you on the day you were created. I appointed you to be the anointed guardian cherub. . . You were perfect in all you did from the day you were created until that time when wrong was found in you. Your great wealth filled you with internal turmoil and you sinned. Therefore, I cast you out of the mountain of God like a common sinner. (Eze. 28:12-16 TLB)
It appears that it has been rebellion and sinful pride that has always interrupted the desired relationship between those created, and a holy God. Even before the creation of earth, as we now know it, that personal spirit of deceit, enmity and evil manipulation had resulted in costing Almighty God the experiencing of disloyalty and betrayal of Lucifer and one third of the heavenly angels. He had given to them the privilege of free moral agency. They had abused it, and it had cost God immensely. But because of his incomprehensible love for his created human beings, God continues to reach out and welcome the wayward creation.
Let’s continue with our investigation and see if we can discover more information and insights regarding this “human being project”. We know that humans were created with a body, and that humans were also equipped with a mind, emotions and the “will” (that we have just discussed). But humans continue to be a mystery as to how all those facets and factors work together.
Let’s learn more about good and evil!
Next Week: How has History handled this Mystery?