Why did God create?
We know from the rest of the Bible God didn’t create because he had needs he wanted his creation to meet. It’s not as though God had an itch he couldn’t scratch so he made the cosmos to take care of that for him.
So why did God create? Well, let me tweak the question slightly. What did the universe do to deserve to exist? What did planet earth do to deserve to exist? What did life, including human life, do to deserve to exist? The question is nonsensical. The answer is nothing. We didn’t do a thing to deserve life.
This is ‘creational grace.’ Creation is an act of incredible divine generosity. God didn’t need us. He made space for us. This is divine generosity and hospitality. God created in order to give!
To be made in the image and likeness of God means we are to replicate this generosity and hospitality by making space for others. That means making space for people in our community; making space for people in our churches; making space for people in our homes.
So make room for people. Welcome them into your community, church, and home!