Creature.

Worship-

(A few excerpts from a book I'm currently reading/studying - THE IDEA OF THE HOLY - AN INQUIRY INTO THE NON-RATIONAL FACTOR IN THE IDEA OF THE DIVINE AND ITS RELATION TO THE RATIONAL)

'… of solemn worship.

In what does this consist? Schleiemacher has the credit of isolating a very important element in such an experience. This is the feeling of dependence.'

'…the feeling, as a sense of personal insufficiency and impotence…'

'What he overlooks is that, in giving the feeling the name feeling of dependence at all, we are really employing what is no more than a very close analogy…'

'…creature-consciousness or creature-feeling. It is the emotion of a creature, abased and overwhelmed by its own nothingness in contrast to that which is supreme above all creatures.'

'And this response must be directly experienced in oneself to be understood.'

'When Abraham ventures to plead with God for the men of Sodom, he says (Genesis xviii. 27) : Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes.'

'The difference between the feeling of dependence of Schleiermacher and that which finds typical utterance in the words of Abraham already cited might be expressed as that between the consciousness of createdness and the consciousness of creaturehood. In the one case you have the creature as the work of the divine creative act; in the other, impotence and general nothingness as against overpowering might, dust and ashes as against majesty. In the one case you have the fact of having been created; in the other the status of creature.'

'If we may repeat the contrast already made, not feeling of our createdness but feeling our creaturehood, that is, the consciousness of the littleness of every creature in face of that which is above all creatures.'

*******

The comprehension of our creaturehood as we recognize our Creator for what He is, this is something we need to understand. Dust and ashes- this is the whole of us in comparison to our Creator. If we pick up a pile of dust and ashes and add a bit of water to make clay and then out of that clay we create a figure- that figure is one of our making. We might display it proudly for all to see if we deem it worthy, or even if we don't deem it worthy- we just might be thrilled with our ability to have created something. We do this all the time. We accomplish a task and desire praise, even when we say we don't. We take things already created and rearrange them in a unique way and beam with pride over our ingenuity. Some people take really big already created things and piece them together bit by bit making huge edifices and because they've managed such a grand feat they are honored. Others move pieces of things already made around and fit them to other things in such a special way that they are saving lives with their learned talent. Constantly we exist in a world with created things and we use them to make new things, different things. We alter chemistry with other chemicals, we mix and mingle until a new thing exists. We may study for years and years and through much trial and error come up with something spectacular- we do this with things already created.

Right now I could ask most people who invented various remarkable things we use and they'd be able to tell me because that person became famous for the invention. The person became famous for rearranging components into something astounding. Do they deserve such fame? Yes, they are the ones who took the materials used to make something we all use every day, so yes, it's a good thing to recognize that person for what they did.

The point of all this jabbering is the CREATOR of the things we use to make the many things we make, is the ONE who deserves all the GLORY, the supreme GLORY. Strip away everything and stand there alone and know YOU were CREATED. Your existence stems from your CREATOR. The world around you stems from the same CREATOR. The breath you are now breathing comes from the CREATOR.

Created.

And once created…

…forever a creature.

CREATOR.

You may hold a title as the creator of something, but the truth is you are a rearranger of things created. Every word I put on this screen, this study I've just written, was created by a creature using things already created. I exist because of a CREATOR. The comprehension of my creaturehood is accepting the UNCREATED CREATOR.

More on this tomorrow by the will of God, through the grace and mercy of my SAVIOR, my CREATOR, now and forever, in Jesus Christ my Lord!