Okay, so it's been a year & a half since I posted anything...yikes! Not promising when my next post will be, but here are some of my thoughts as I was reading in Genesis this morning.
Incredible Creation
Incredible how the story tells of God's creative acts. The first three days are him separating: the light from darkness, sky from seas, land from sea. Each one builds in its importance. God is making space, creating room for what is coming next.
Then the next three days mirror the first three. To inhabit the day and night (Day 1), he creates the big and little lights (Day 4). To inhabit the sky and sea (Day 2), he creates birds, fish, water animals (Day 5). Creating land (Day 3) was the big triumph of the first three days, so to populate it he creates land animals: wild animals of every type, from the largest blue whale to the tiniest insect, animals that slither, that crawl, that dash, and that lope (Day 6). Each of the things created in days 4-6 was created to inhabit and fill its space, which was created on days 1-3. The Creation is growing, building to something more...
And then, there is the second half of the sixth day. Now God makes something different. He makes something in HIS OWN image. He made us. But where we fall in this progression through creation is almost at the end. That placement shows that we are the most important of all he created, that we are different. Because of that place at the pinnacle of creation, he gives us dominion over all that he has created.
But that dominion is not absolute. He gives us dominion over HIS creation. We are the caretakers of what is truly his. It's not ours to do whatever we want with, it's his for us to watch over, care for, manage, and protect. How do the scriptures emphasize this? Continuing the pattern of building in intensity and greatness through the days of creation, man is not created at the end of the story. The end of the story is God's: his day, his rest, he is over all that has come before because he is the creator of it.
And that's why God commanded his people to take a sabbath, a day of rest. It's not only because we all need to relax sometimes. Not only because our bodies were not designed to function well when they are running at high capacity all the time. We are commanded to take a sabbath because it is a reminder that God is the one in control. Ultimately, we are not even in total control of our lives. God is the one who numbers our days. Our rest time helps us recognize that it's not all about us. The world does not fall apart when we are not working. The world is made up of things that are out of our control. But God is good.
Then the next three days mirror the first three. To inhabit the day and night (Day 1), he creates the big and little lights (Day 4). To inhabit the sky and sea (Day 2), he creates birds, fish, water animals (Day 5). Creating land (Day 3) was the big triumph of the first three days, so to populate it he creates land animals: wild animals of every type, from the largest blue whale to the tiniest insect, animals that slither, that crawl, that dash, and that lope (Day 6). Each of the things created in days 4-6 was created to inhabit and fill its space, which was created on days 1-3. The Creation is growing, building to something more...
And then, there is the second half of the sixth day. Now God makes something different. He makes something in HIS OWN image. He made us. But where we fall in this progression through creation is almost at the end. That placement shows that we are the most important of all he created, that we are different. Because of that place at the pinnacle of creation, he gives us dominion over all that he has created.
But that dominion is not absolute. He gives us dominion over HIS creation. We are the caretakers of what is truly his. It's not ours to do whatever we want with, it's his for us to watch over, care for, manage, and protect. How do the scriptures emphasize this? Continuing the pattern of building in intensity and greatness through the days of creation, man is not created at the end of the story. The end of the story is God's: his day, his rest, he is over all that has come before because he is the creator of it.
And that's why God commanded his people to take a sabbath, a day of rest. It's not only because we all need to relax sometimes. Not only because our bodies were not designed to function well when they are running at high capacity all the time. We are commanded to take a sabbath because it is a reminder that God is the one in control. Ultimately, we are not even in total control of our lives. God is the one who numbers our days. Our rest time helps us recognize that it's not all about us. The world does not fall apart when we are not working. The world is made up of things that are out of our control. But God is good.
Mozambique moon. 
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