By Father Jonathan J. Filkins

We spend a considerable amount of time and talk centering upon the nature of God. As believers, we hold that God created everything in the Universe.

Therefore, it is He who created even time itself, for there is not moment in time when God was not. This is a very difficult concept for us to get our minds around, for we are continuously beset by the reality of time; whether it be our aging, a doctor’s appointment, or picking up the kids from ballet, or soccer practice.

As our Creator and, as Christians, we acknowledge the presence of the nature of God, upon this earth, in Jesus Christ. It was, and is, through the Holy Spirit, our Triune God, as we find the very literal presence of God amongst us, and with us.

Many conversations become heated around much of the Creation story. Some will dismiss the Biblical account in its entirety. Some will assert that God created all of this, and then sent is spinning around the cosmos, to figure it all out on its own, without supervision, or intervention.

Such are the machinations and peculiarities of us. Regardless of personally held beliefs, and whatever voice of humankind we choose to listen to, this belief in God has some order to it. For, without order, we would not be His creation.

At the onset, we accept there are laws, some of which we call nature, and others we shall refer to as “moral laws.”

Yes, we understand Newton’s Law of Gravity; especially when we drop a can of Blue Runner’s on our toe. Much of our life stories are set by natural laws, as we learn that our actions, deliver reaction.

However, to an even greater degree, our moral laws are more impactful than nature. We learn, to one degree or another, that accountability to ourselves and others, is required. As an example, outside of the laws of God, if we were to take whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted, somebody would eventually get upset and retaliate. Perhaps the retaliation would be extreme and to our ultimate detriment.

So, let us acknowledge there are inherent moral laws, which have become part of our very nature; beyond the prurient physical.

These laws dictate to us, if we are paying attention, what our relationship is to be with our fellow humans and, in the dictates, the consequences of not following them. Our American intuitions readily support this premise.

On first impression, all of this sounds heavy handed. It is a form of, “do this, or else!” Yet, this is our relationship with God, and His love for us. It is He who expects each of us to do His will.

This is not dissimilar to any responsible parent setting rules and limits for their children. Our greatest challenge, as adults, it to remember that it is He who created us and sustains us.

Let us acknowledge the very gift of life to us, and give thanks for the continuous preservation of all of His Creation. For, it is He who continues to give us the gift of Godly love and preserves us, in spite of falling so short. It is He who has given us the gift of eternal life, to preserve us forever.