Have you ever wondered why God created so many different things?

Maybe you’ve never really thought about it before, so here’s what I mean: Why do we have different skin colors, hair colors, and eye colors? Why do we have different body types and different skills and talents? Why do people like different foods? Why are there different foods? Why are there different animals all over the world that eat each other and eat all different kinds of plants? Why are some places in the world hot and dry, some hot and wet, some cold and dry, some cold and wet, and some all of the above? Why do we have mountains and valleys and freshwater and saltwater and ponds and lakes and rivers and oceans? Why do humans build different kinds of houses and speak different languages and wear different clothes? Why are there stars so far away we can’t see them and organisms so small we can’t see them?

Really, just why?

I understand that there are scientific and anthropological reasons for these things, but why? In the beginning God made everything (Gen 1:1) and it was very good (Gen 1:31). So why did He make it this way? Would it have been “very good” if humans all looked basically the same and liked the same things, if the climate was the same everywhere, if there was one kind of predator, one kind of herbivore, one kind of plant, and one kind of place to get water? God could have made it that way.

But he didn’t.

In fact, not only did He give us some variety in His creation, He gave us so much variety that there are whole scientific fields dedicated to classifying animals and plants, and then scientific fields dedicated to each of those classifications. Then there’s us humans. We have scientific fields dedicated to studying everything about us. There is so much and we don’t even come close to grasping it all.

The Bible is full of verses that could be used to answer this question, but here are a few to consider:

“Oh LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the whole earth is full of your creatures.” Psalm 104:24.

“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities– all things were created through him and for him.” Colossians 1:16.

“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” Psalm 139:14.

“It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings [humans] is to search things out.” Proverbs 25:2.

God created all things, and He created all things to glorify Himself. When we see His amazing works, our hearts should turn to praise. This brings God more glory and brings us more joy. God created us for His glory and His good pleasure, and He loves us. Because He loves us, He creates things for our pleasure too. God’s goal in us is not to make us happy, in the human sense of the word. However, the more satisfied we are in Christ, the more glorified He is. We were created to glorify God, so if we are doing that, we are fulfilling our purpose and will be the most satisfied, happy, and complete.

Because God made so many animals, we can laugh and marvel at the ridiculousness of a platypus, the gracefulness of a deer, the structure of a bird, and the speed of a cheetah. Because God made so many tiny things, we can rejoice that God has every small detail under His control. Because the universe is so big and the stars are so far away, we can rest assured that God’s power is greater than it all. How can we do otherwise?

God’s creativity is shown in everything He has made and in everything we can imagine. The more of God’s creativity we see, the more we can marvel at His wondrous works. This marveling should cause us to praise Him and bring Him all the glory.