Thank god for the sun.
We all search for God in our own ways. For many, life is a quest to define “higher power” and adhere to its principles in order to have a peaceful existence. Cultural differences and personal circumstances inform people’s acknowledgement and understanding of God. Yet, each doctrine teaches God to be an all-knowing, all-powerful, giver and taker of life. Monotheistic religions largely control the narrative of who God is, and more specifically, the Christian Bible functions as a study of God’s will and mentality. The Holy Bible introduces us to God, first and foremost, as a Creator. The first book, first chapter, and first verse says, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and earth” (Genesis 1:1). Verses 2-4 tell us that the earth was without form, darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit moved over the waters. The scripture goes on to detail God’s miraculous formation of the world, but first, God created the Light; “And God said, Let there light: and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good: And God divided the light from the darkness” (Genesis 1:3-4).
Although there is no mention of the Sun or Moon until the 14th-16th verses, or 4th day of Creation, God’s first commandment of light was a prelude to the Sun’s immeasurable importance to our universe. The age-old debate of Evolution vs Creation wrongfully pits the two ideologies against one another, when in reality, careful examination of both stories proves their similarities. According to the geniuses at NASA, the Sun formed from a large, rotating cloud of gas and dust. We must consider if this is the Spirit of God that moved over the face of the waters, and spoke light over the land. Religion teaches us that God always was, and always will be. There is no logical explanation for its existence, yet we believe in its matchless power. It seems that with science, God has given us a tangible story for how everything was created, including itself.
The use of “it” to describe God is deliberate and difficult. Again, Christianity hinges on God’s identification as male. Of course Jesus Christ is a man, and his existence is centered as the second of the Trinity, or God in three persons. Matthew 28:19 names The Father (male), the Son (male), and the Holy Spirit (infinite divinity). The pronouns used to describe the Creator are always “He” and “Him.” But if we are to believe that God is all-powerful, created from a self-realized moving Spirit, with the foresight to faction an entire universe from one commandment of light, “He” is much too narrow of a name to give it. This is not to dismiss the legitimacy of the Bible, or of Jesus Christ, or of what we’ve come to know as God the Father. This is simply an appeal to expand the understanding of God’s mentality. Consider that the great Creator wrote the story of Jesus Christ to make itself understood and palatable to those who need that particular image. Consider that the great Creator manifests itself in many ways, so as to be seen and heard everywhere, and understood across cultures.
The Sun is our greatest example of consistency, fulfilled purpose and function, and evidence of the importance of taking of your goddamn time.
