I’ve had the opportunity to read Genesis chapter 1 a few times recently. It is … PHENOMENAL! Please pardon my shouting but, well, I can’t help it! Afterall, it is about the beginning, the very beginning!
In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth! Exclamation point added by me because I can’t help it!
Oops, that’s not from Genesis. It’s from the New Testament book titled The Gospel According to John, chapter 1 verses 1-3 and 14. But it does clarify something about the work of Genesis. It’s telling us Who was there: Jesus, the only Son from the Father.
Let’s get back to Genesis. Back just 1,970 pages in my study Bible to Genesis Chapter 1, verses 1&2 read like this …
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.
The Old Testament scholar, Dr. Walter Kaiser, described Genesis 1.1-2 with these words: “It is a majestic text!”
In the beginning. Before anything else. Just God, the Word/Jesus Christ (as we learned in John 1.1-3,14), and the Spirit of God. The Three.
Then came the earth and the heavens, created by God from nothing. Light. Darkness. Day. Night. An expanse called Heaven. Gathered waters and dry land.
The creation work of God not yet completed, but good. God did not leave His creation in the in-between state but further brought vegetation yielding seed. Trees bearing fruit with seeds. The sun, moon, and stars. Good? Yes! And still more to come …
Each person reading this message is also a work of God’s Creation. He didn’t leave me in the in-between of my awkwardness and self-doubt. In my foolishness and irreverence. He allowed life circumstances to show me the in-between is a dangerous and disheartening place to be. Life doesn’t thrive there. It stagnates or even crumbles. A thriving life comes with the realization that God’s Creation, His plan for redemption and rescue, and His unwavering love for all of His Creation is personal yet universally available for those who surrender their will to Him. It is phenomenal. And it all started in the beginning!
Start reading in Genesis and let your heart be moved and your tears flow. You were made for more than doubt and discouragement or braggadocio and self-reliance. You are His and He is Yours. From the beginning, because of the beginning. “A majestic text” indeed!
With a so-humbled and grateful heart, Colleen