Daily Scripture

 

Genesis 1:1-5, 26-28, 31

 

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. 

 

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

 

So God created man in his own image,

     in the image of God he created him;

     male and female he created them.

 

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

 

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

 

Picking Up the Thread 

God made everything. Is that too obvious? Do you take it for granted? Or do you doubt that it could be so? As our study opens, I long for us to be reinvigorated through realizing afresh that the LORD I AM, the triune God of grace, created and sustains all things. 

 

The beauty of the Bible’s creation account settles us in the peace of finding our proper place in the universe. Through creation, we realize that the very world we encounter is intentional, ordered and good. Let’s consider further:

In the beginning. Genesis tells us that the universe had a start. At one time, all that is had not come into being. God initiated creation. We exist because God thought of us and then made us. He created all there is out of nothing according to his plan and power. Our beginning was intentional. Therefore, our continuing to live is purposeful. Life has meaning because all things were made by God and for God.

 

God shaped his new world over time. We read that, at first, the earth was without form and void, and the chaos of primordial waters covered everything. Then we read that the Spirit of God hovered over those chaotic waters. That is to say, he superintended the ordered formation of all things. 

 

God spoke new things into being within his infant world. There was darkness. Then God said, “Let there be light.” And light occurred. Creation came about through the powerful word of God. What God speaks comes to be! 

 

God saw that his creation was good. So there was one day, and then there was another. The very cadence of Genesis 1 communicates a peaceful sense of rhythm. It feels right to us as we read. Everything happened as it was supposed to. Moreover, the LORD himself took pleasure in this work. All matter and energy, all forces, all solids, liquids and gases, all particles and waves, indeed everything is pleasing to the Maker. It is good that creation exists!

 

Humanity is the pinnacle of creation. We were made distinctly male and female so that such complementarity might together be the image of God in the world. Our consciousness, our speech, our capacity to relate to Someone invisible to our eyes, our urge to perceive and create meaning are all part of the mystery of humanity being created after the likeness of God. 

 

Stitching It In

 

We dare not lose the precious perception that the world is created. Skeptical, discouraging voices proclaim that life emerged from unguided and impersonal forces. To them, there is no purposed beginning and no intentional destination. Hence, depressingly, there is no reason to live because life has no meaning. If innate survival is the only essence of our existence, no wonder so many people live with gnawing despair!

 

But we have a better story. We can reclaim the daring declaration of Scripture that all things exist by the creative design and powerful action of our God. There is a meaning for everything. It all matters. Our purpose, joy and reason to live all have everything to do with a personal Creator. We recall that we have perceived since we were children that there must be a Maker. Paul writes, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:19-20).

 

But too often as we grow up we enter humanity’s endless struggle to make up our own independent meaning. We can lose sight of the Creator. We forge our own way and begin to believe that we ourselves are the source and goal of life. Paul continues, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21).

 

Sadly, we can lose the golden thread of our createdness. Sometimes the very pressure and busyness of daily life can keep us from honoring God as Creator and giving thanks. Sometimes our preoccupation with watching stories on screens or listening to voices in our earbuds deadens us to the beautiful and purposeful creation around us.

 

Recovery, though, can begin with the practice of “mindfulness.” That simply means intentionally becoming aware of what is around us, naming it and noticing it. This practice creates peace. Step outside. Take note. A dove sings alone on a wire. Crepe myrtles bloom again. Ants carry sand to their hill. Leaves wave in the breeze. Squirrels chase each other. This light rain smells fresh.

 

Then, as believers in a Creator, we turn mindfulness into gratitude. We give thanks for each thing we have noticed. And so we spring from peace into joy. Gracious Father, all this you intended and gave me to perceive! 

 

Take some time now to give thanks specifically for at least three aspects of creation that you find beautiful, mystifying, awe-inspiring or delighting.

 

Praying Along the Pattern

 

O God, my God, by your word all that is came to be.

By your gracious will, you gave me the perception of such wonders:

 

Morning sun lights the waves 

     that crest and crash over me,

A crawling, dull caterpillar liquifies, 

     then emerges to fly with colorful wings. 

Wildflowers in a forest bloom so briefly,

     yet return year after year in the same place.

An infant laughs with her whole body 

     at the silly faces her sister makes.

A dog grabs a shoe for a chase, head fakes,

     spins and sprints past me in triumph.

A Louisiana sunset turns 

     towering cumulus clouds orange and raspberry. 

 

Every day, every second, your bountiful mind

Reveals itself in the ordinary.

You are God. 

I thank you for the beauty that surrounds me

And the glory of all you make.