It seems I have something to learn. Either that, or God has an incredible sense of humor.
Our pastor has just begun a new sermon series on the book of Genesis. Cool stuff. Matt and I have been anticipating this for nearly a year and are so pumped about it! And the spring semester of women’s Bible studies began this week, and for the first time there were two choices on Thursday mornings: a Beth Moore study of Esther and a study of Genesis written and led by one of McKinney Fellowship’s own. As much as I love Beth Moore, I’d spent the last 18 months doing various studies of hers and knew it was time for a change. But Genesis? We were already doing that in “big church.” I signed up for it anyway, figuring there was something God wanted me to discover in that book of beginnings. Oh, and the kicker? Our sermon series focuses on Genesis 1-11, from creation to the time of the flood. The Bible study? Yup, you guessed it. Genesis 1-11. I’m pretty sure I can hear my Heavenly Father giggling as I write this.
For the next several weeks, I’m going to use this space to post insights and lessons I’m learning as I sojourn through these passages. It’s going to be a wild ride, that’s for sure!
This week, the focus was on the days of creation. I’ve heard the story of creation from the time I was barely big enough to fill a nursery crib at church. I’ve memorized the order of the days and sung songs about what God created…and it was all well and good but I realized this week I never really “got it.” God had a bigger design, a higher plan, a divine order in choosing how He would create this world. He had a story to tell, and He chose to do it in seven pages. I give credit to Joy Roberts for what follows.
GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION AS ILLUSTRATED THROUGH THE DAYS OF CREATION
DAY 1:Â God said, “Let there be light.”
I was fallen and buried in spiritual darkness, but God sent the Light. Jesus said, “I am the Light of the World. Anyone who believes in Me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.”
DAY 2:Â God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”
By faith, I responded to the Light and was separated from the rest of the “waters” and given a heavenly calling.
DAY 3:Â God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear…Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth.”
I was resurrected with Christ and given new life, just as the dry land was resurrected from a watery grave and given new life.
DAY 4:Â God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens, to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens, to give light upon the earth.”
I was divinely appointed to be a light to the world.
DAY 5: God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.”
Just as God began with simple forms of life, so I begin to show signs of supernatural life within me as I take simple steps of faith.
DAY 6:Â God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind…Let Us make man in Our image.”
Just as life forms are now more complex, culminating in the apex of creation – Adam, the perfect man, the very image of God – so I become more and more conformed to God’s image (Rom. 12:1-2) as I take increasingly complex steps and mature in my faith.
DAY 7:Â God rested.
Just as God’s act of “resting” infers “satisfaction”, so I have the hope of one day being fully satisfied in my faith as I enjoy the eternal blessings of heaven.
Is our God cool or what?