Plantinga Ch. 2: Creation

     Plantinga starts out this chapter talking about the intricate relationship between God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit which the Greek church called "perichoresis."  He especially emphasized the hospitality between the three and told of how each "made room for the others" and "helped them flourish in that room they had made."  This was convicting to me, especially in the state I'm in right now.  I feel like over the past few years especially (really, my whole life) I've been focusing only on myself.  Since my sophomore year in high school I was bulimic and until very recently had not been able to let go of that addiction.  I was going to different counselors and my conversations with my friends were mainly about my issues with my family.  My senior year was all about making myself look good on college and scholarship apps. and leading my school's orchestra on tour and performing my senior recital.  It was really all about me. 
    Then, when I came to Calvin, things started being not about me anymore.  My gpa was not as high as it was in high school, I was no longer the best violinist in the orchestra, I didn't have any family around or my  friends that I had known since kindergarten, and on top of that, I was trying to stop throwing up AND trying not to gain weight from dining hall food (all as a means of trying to make myself thinner so I'd be more attractive so the guys would like me).  What did this gain me?  Well, honestly...a crappy first semester, a night in the hospital after a huge overdose, a HUGE medical/ambulance bill to pay, and a bad relationship with my former roomate. 
      However, when I look back on my experience, I don't think I would change any of it.  There were things that I missed out on, yes.  But what I gained-an understanding that it's not all about me.  I'm not saying that I remember that all the time, because I probably am still thinking about myself 99% of the time; however, I know what problems I have to fix now and have the resources and the strength to get through them.  I have also come to realize the joy I can get from helping others grow in their faith; whether it's giving them a passage from Scripture, praying for them, or talking to them-it's so much more fulfilling than focusing on oneself, and so much more a picture of what God wants our relationships with each other to be like.
     Back to the book.  I really liked how Plantinga said, "Nothing internal or external to God compelled Him to create" and "Creation is neither a necessity nor an accident.  Instead...creation is an act that was fitting for God."  This goes back to the whole idea of Shalom-the way things are supposed to be, or when everything fits the way it's supposed to.  "The study of creation is a classic opportunity to read Scripture and the natural world together."  However, being the crazy environmentalist that I am, I know how tainted and ruined creation has become, especially since humans came into the picture.  Like I said in class, when a piece of nature is destroyed (and yes, there are things in nature that we cannot bring back once they are gone), it's like tearing out a page of Scripture-because it ruins another chance to see God.  "Nature is God's textbook.  To read God, we read nature."  Plantinga mentioned that the rainbow was a covenant between God and ALL LIVING creatures.  Not just humans.  It is true that we are made in the image of God and thus are in a sense "apart from" the rest of creation and have "responsible dominion;" but at the same time, we are supposed to be "a part of" creation-giving it room to be itself, just like each member of the Trinity gave each other room.
   I haven't even touched on near all that was in this chapter-so much CRC theology!  However, these are the parts that I am most passionate about.