In the Beginning...

One of my favorite aspects of Genesis is the richness of narrative – its stories. Genesis tells the story of Creation and the beginning of the human race. It tells the story of the patriarchs and the start of the Hebrew nation. It also displays the power of God.

The first book of the Bible sets the stage for God’s relationship with mankind. It also shows how that relationship disintegrated due to sin and our willful choice to disobey God’s commands. It begins the story of why we needed Jesus Christ to come to Earth to save us.

When…did Jesus begin?

Well, when we go back to God’s creation of man in Genesis 1:26, He said, “Let US make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air…”

Who is the “us”?

All of God…the Trinity…God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. In other words – Jesus was alive with God at the Creation of the world. He was and is a separate person, as well as being God. Yes, the Trinity is one of the most complex theological ideas. It’s one of those aspects of faith that I simply leave to God’s prominence – my brain is insufficient to totally understand how the Trinity is possible!

So, why exactly did Jesus have to come to Earth so save us?

Sin.

The curse.

Genesis begins the narrative of mankind’s fall into sin and rejection of the God who created it. It displays the nature of God as ultimately unconditional love – that He would create humans with free will and the freedom to make choices, even bad ones, proves that He loves. He did not create beings who act as puppets and do His bidding. Our God loves the relationship with us, the fellowship, the uniqueness of each of us.

If only we would realize that.

That’s where Jesus comes in...

Today is Day 4. For the remainder of the week I will post “a little something” each day. If the reading is challenging and you are behind, here are some tips:

1.      Before you begin to read, pray. Pray for God’s Holy Spirit to anoint your reading and give you the message God wants you to have.

2.     Remember that this is not a “study” – this is an opportunity to read the Bible in 90 days.

3.      Post questions to the blog – even the “stupid” questions. Sometimes, those provoke the most discussion! J

4.      Read in small chunks during the day. Read for 10 minutes here, 15 minutes there. Before you know it, 12 pages a day and you’re done.

5.      Don’t feel you have to know how to pronounce every ancient name and remember every geographical river, mountain, rock and city. It’s not important to the message of this group – to get to know God and His word better.

I will “see” you tomorrow.