As I learn more about the origin of the universe, the first verse of Genesis which reads, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." takes on a richer meaning. After the Enlightenment period, scientists who took on a purely naturalistic (or materialistic, i.e. only physical matter exists and nothing else) either assumed or reasoned that the universe was eternal. This philosophy afforded them the opportunity to dodge the question of the origin of the universe. In other words, matter was the end all be all of existence. But something interesting happened around the time of Einstein, Hubble and Boyle. The conglomeration of their research revealed that the universe had a beginning. In fact, today researchers have narrowed down the birth date of the universe which is about 14.3 billion years ago. This had stunning implications because it revealed that since the universe was created, something besides matter exists. Moreover, when some see the stunning complexity of the universe and yet the intricate fine tuning of the laws of physics which allow biological life to flourish, they can't help but reason that an intelligent agent played a central part in, dare we say in this day and age, 'creating' as well as intricately 'designing' this universe and our world.
Before this post gets too long, I'd like to hear others chime in on what it means to them that God created the heavens and the earth. For me personally, it means that my very life was created and is sustained by God. It means that I am made in his image (literally shadow in the Hebrew language) for a purpose according to verse 1:28. Snatching a theme from Genesis 3, I struggle every day with the reality that my life is for God's purpose. Because of sin, I want to live my own life. But when I look at the splendor and freedom that God has given in Genesis 2 I think to myself, how can I be so foolish? While Genesis 3 explains the origins of our foolish rebellion through our first parents, it is also gives a glimmer of God's hope of restoration through verse 15. Even way back then, God initiated a plan to bring us back to him. It is through this promise of redemption that man would be able to once again behold the glory and splendor of the wonderful creator God in Genesis chapters 1 and 2.
When I first came to Bible study, the words, 'It was formless and empty' and 'The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters' gave me hope and anticipation that God was ready to do something in my life which had been irreparably marred by sin. Of course, in the context, the author is talking about the earth. But at the time, these words touched me in a personal sense. So my question to you all out there in the blogosphere, what is so special to you about Gen 1-3?
Some questions I thought about for discussion:
Which one of God's attributes in Genesis 1-3 intrigue or inspire you the most?
What does it mean that God made you in his image?
What do you think about God establishing marriage?
Why did God allow Adam and Eve to make moral decisions (rather than programming them to always do good)?
Do you see the curses in Genesis 3 as redemptive (I do, btw)?
chime in with any other thoughts that you have!
Before this post gets too long, I'd like to hear others chime in on what it means to them that God created the heavens and the earth. For me personally, it means that my very life was created and is sustained by God. It means that I am made in his image (literally shadow in the Hebrew language) for a purpose according to verse 1:28. Snatching a theme from Genesis 3, I struggle every day with the reality that my life is for God's purpose. Because of sin, I want to live my own life. But when I look at the splendor and freedom that God has given in Genesis 2 I think to myself, how can I be so foolish? While Genesis 3 explains the origins of our foolish rebellion through our first parents, it is also gives a glimmer of God's hope of restoration through verse 15. Even way back then, God initiated a plan to bring us back to him. It is through this promise of redemption that man would be able to once again behold the glory and splendor of the wonderful creator God in Genesis chapters 1 and 2.
When I first came to Bible study, the words, 'It was formless and empty' and 'The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters' gave me hope and anticipation that God was ready to do something in my life which had been irreparably marred by sin. Of course, in the context, the author is talking about the earth. But at the time, these words touched me in a personal sense. So my question to you all out there in the blogosphere, what is so special to you about Gen 1-3?
Some questions I thought about for discussion:
Which one of God's attributes in Genesis 1-3 intrigue or inspire you the most?
What does it mean that God made you in his image?
What do you think about God establishing marriage?
Why did God allow Adam and Eve to make moral decisions (rather than programming them to always do good)?
Do you see the curses in Genesis 3 as redemptive (I do, btw)?
chime in with any other thoughts that you have!
I'm kinda tired so I'm not going to be able to say alot even though I feel as if there's lots to be discussed in the first three chapters. But I think Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" was very important for me to hear because it let's me know that before me and the universe there was God.
ReplyDeletei'll post questions/comments i have maybe tommrow on these chapters?
My favorite line this time around was, "The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame."
ReplyDeleteI'm not exactly sure why, but I love the idea of no shame in relationships (I'm not just referring to marriages). One of the workshops at the retreat was UNITY.. Mostly it was about how church = relationships. If there are "bad" relationships, hiding, lack of communication/trust there is something seriously wrong. If we don't love people, we don't love God.
This year I hope that our family at UIC can love each other by being transparent, confess our sins and come to our LORD Jesus Christ in prayer.
@dkyoshiba, I agree that the statement in verse 1 is extremely profound and something that serves to ground me in reality. I'm not the center of the universe and neither is any created thing, including the universe. I hope that this year, we can both come to know much more about the Creator.
ReplyDelete@es ELLE, I like the idea of no shame in relationships because it means that I don't have to hide parts of my personality/self from people. I can be who I am. It also allows us to rejoice in how we are beautifully and uniquely made in the image of God. Also, we can shamelessly share our wounds and depravity, weep together and ultimately bring these things to Jesus for healing. I second the notion that this is the key to unity. I pray that this year, there will be much more rejoicing as well as weeping in repentance for one another.
Lord Jesus, let our unique gifts be revealed for your glory as well as our unique sins that we may be healed and begin a new story.