My Walk - May 2008

Friday, May 16, 2008 - 7:00a.m.

Genesis 1

I remember being in elementary school. I was in Church and the Lutheran church (at least the Missouri Synod I attend) is very formulaic in their approach to worship (not that I'm cirtisizing; I find the Lutheran service calming). Anyway, I was in Church and I suddenly thought "How do we know God is real?" With barely a pause, I answered myself "How else would earth get here?" Years later, I still remember that moment in Church and I don't think I've ever seriously doubted the existance of God since.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is that creation is probably a major foundation of my faith.
I realize there's evolution and a few other theories out there, but they never made sense to me, even as they were being forced down my throat in school. I never understood why it was so much easier for people to believe that earth and life was a huge cosmic accident. And that was before I started doing research. I mean, even now, most scientists are beginning to believe in Intelligent Design versus straight up Evolution.
Another story time. I remember, once upon a time, learing all the days and what God made on them. I remember the little pictures in my Awanas book, but besides "Let there be light" on the first day and the creation of Man on the sixth, I don't really remember. If I sat down with a pen and paper, I could probably figure it out but I miss being able to reel it off.
The first chapter of Genesis is probably one of the most quoted chapters as a whole. I mean "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1) is probably one of the most famous verses of the Bible. It's the opening line for the ultimate best-seller. From an English major (who's also a Dickens freak), Gensesis 1:1 is to the Bible as "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" is to A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. Most people (at least in America) probably know the opening line of the Bible. Then, there's "God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light." Maybe this is just me, but I definitally say that when switching on the light on occasion. Last time I started to read my Bible, I highlighted nine verses in this chapter alone! The two and a half pages it takes up (it's a study Bible) are practically bleeding green highlighter ink.

Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.	This is the beginning of EVERYTHING! There was no time, no space, nothing before God created it. Further more, except for Man, this is the only thing that uses the word "created" instead of saying "God said," at least in the NIV Bible I grew up with.
Genesis 1:3 - And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.	Life as we know it would not exist without light. Light is warmth, sight and often a symbol for knowledge or life. And yet God created it with three words. He took an idea, gave a name to it, and created it using little more than thought, if you think about it. I mean, the word "light" meant nothing before he even uttered it. No wonder light is so often equated to life in literature.
Genesis 1:6 - And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water."	This particular section of the first chapter I'd always found confusing, becuase in the next two verses, there is water "below" and water "above" with "sky" between. My dad told me a theory that basically says there was a lot of water in the atmostphere, which helped prevent harmful rays of the sun from coming in and when there's a flood a few books later, all this water fell to earth. I don't quite understand it...what am I saying? I don't understand it at all, but even without understanding, this verse is a record of what God created the second day, so there is still a great weight of importance on this verse.
Genesis 1:9 - And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place and let dry ground appear." And it was so.	Another verse that doesn't allow me to perfectly picture the original creation. However, remembering the water above "sky" and that the flood would greatly alter the layout of the land allows me to accept it with even a feeling that I have an acceptable explanation. Not that I need an explanation for God's Word and Promise, but it can help sometimes.
Genesis 1:11 - Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so.	And now, several thousand years later, Man seems to think it's too good to eat that and is thus altering God's creation so we can have seedless grapes and such. Not that I won't eat it; I love seedless grapes. Sometimes, though, when I stop to think, it's kind of scary how much Man is messing with God's handiwork. However, He created us to lord over earth knowing full well what we'd do. I'll eat my seedless fruit and just not think about it too deeply.
Genesis 1:14 - And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark the seasons and days and years."	When I stop to think, why did God create light on the first day, but not make the sun, moon and stars until the fourth day? How did we get "there was evening and there was morning" without ways to tell if there was evening and morning? But God's perfect; He knows what He's doing and He's got it all under control, so I shouldn't let it bother me too much.
Genesis 1:20 - And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky."	Now that I stop to think, why did God create fish and birds in the same day? Isn't there some story of a bird and a fish falling in love but being unable to be happy because they coulnd't ever live together? Two fundamentally different creatures were created in the same breath...strange. I wonder, were flightless birds such as ostriges and penguins also created the fifth day or did they wait until the sixth day?
Genesis 1:24 - And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so.	Now all that's left is someone to rule over the earth: Man.
Genesis 1:27 - So God created man in his own image. in the image of God he created him; male and female, he created them.	I've always found this verse pretty interesting. Why do you get this little blob when when the next one or two chapters are devoted to the creation of man? And why is it "him" for man in the first two lines and "them" at the very end? It feels as if Genesis 1 was something else and the following chapters were added to elaborate on something already well-known or written. shrugs Not like my opinion is all that educated...