I heard a sermon years ago, that said if you can believe Genesis 1:1, then the rest of the Bible is easy. “In the beginning God” is a big statement. The idea of a being that transcends everything in the physical universe that we know, including time. A being that was not created, that is truly eternal. A being powerful enough to create and sustain our entire universe. If we can grasp and accept this idea, then we are prepared for what the rest of the Bible has to say to us about life.
Depending on your personality, this is either an easy thing to accept or a nearly impossible concept that you will struggle with. We will come back to this in a minute.
The account of creation is straightforward. God created things and “saw that they were good.” People debate the word “day;” does it mean 24-hour days or could they be long periods of time? This is an interesting discussion, and you will find Bible experts on both sides (personally, I am a literal 24-hour day guy, but I am not a Bible expert). The important thing for us to remember is that God created everything, and this tells us that there is intelligence, order, meaning, and purpose behind all that exists, including human beings.
God created us in his own image; spiritual beings with an eternal soul and free will, capable of thought, reason, love, and relationship. In verse 2:18, God reinforces the idea that we are created for relationship; “It is not good for the man to be alone.” So God created woman.
For me this is the theme of the whole Bible: God’s pursuit of relationship with people in general, and on a personal level, with me and with you. God created us in His image, to have a relationship with us. In the Old Testament, we see this in His continuing relationships: Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the nation of Israel. We also see the truth of who we are. How we choose to use our free will to sin and break our relationship with God. How God pursues restoration of that relationship, ultimately through the sacrifice of Jesus.
Remember, if you are the type of person who finds the concept of God difficult to accept, that this is part of the way that He uniquely created you. Through all of our questioning, God continues to pursue us, offering His love and grace for our acceptance.
Welcome to the E100 Challenge. Our challenge is to open our hearts and minds to how God wants to grow his relationship with us through this journey.
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