Whose world is it anyway? I know, you could simply look at the title and “skip ahead” of me, but bear with me for a moment. Every house is built by someone, but the One who built everything is God (Hebrews 3:4). I do not believe that everything would mean: “everything but the world.” The word everything means all things.[1]
Therefore, God is the creator of everything in this world, including this world! What does that mean for you and for me? Is it possible as some have suggested, that God “wound this world up, let it go, and backed off?” Or, is He a God that is concerned with our lives and wants us all to succeed and go to Heaven? Scripture tells me it is the latter (2 Peter 3:9). There is a song in our songbooks entitled This Is My Father’s World. For the purpose of this article, we are going to examine two of the phrases in that song and how they apply to us in our modern world.
#1. This is my father’s world and to my listening ears… You may not be reading this while outside, but take a moment in the near future to go outside, close your eyes, and listen to the sounds of nature. There is peace that is found in that sound. It is comforting and calming. God made each and every one of those sounds (Genesis 1, 2). How incredible to know that even the tiniest bug was created by God and serves a purpose in this world (Yes, even the mosquitos!).
The world wants to tell us how it was created, but the truth is that there is no living man who was present at the creation of this world. Many people are self-proclaimed experts and believe that some letters at the end of their name give them the right to change what truth is. Revelation warns us about adding and taking away from the word of God (Revelation 22:18-19). Please make sure that you read articles from Apologetics Press in regards to the myths and facts about creation.
#2. This is my father’s world O let me ne’er forget… This world is rough. It has so many things about it that I do not like and would go so far as to say that I hate them (Proverbs 6:16-19). Jeremiah felt that the wicked in this world prospered more than they should, and he asked the following question: “Righteous are You, O LORD, when I plead with You; Yet let me talk with You about Your judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are those happy who deal so treacherously?”.(Jeremiah 12:1).
I have often stopped to think about all those who I have known who died in the faith that seemingly went well before their “time”. Then, the thought hits my mind of all the evil and wicked people in this world who, day after day and year after year, thrive in society. They win awards and write bestselling novels. But this is still my Father’s world! He reigns! He rules in the kingdoms of men (Daniel 5:44), so why should my heart be sad? No matter what happens in my lifetime, or in any of the lifetimes to come, I can rest easy knowing that God is still in control (Psalm 27:1). Do not be dismayed. God is still in control. It is still His universe, and we still need to play by His rules. Let’s be the wise man (Matthew 7:24-27).
[1] New Oxford Dictionary.