In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).
It’s the simplest truth, taught to the littlest children: God created the whole world. It is the opening statement of the Holy Bible and is foundational to our understanding of who God is, and in turn who we are. I would like to encourage you to read the first chapter of Genesis before you read any further in this devotional.
Where did the universe come from? Modern science spins a tale of colliding gasses that somehow formed into a diverse group of planets, stars and galaxies. Yet out of all those celestial places only one has the exact mix of Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur to sustain life. Only one is the precise distance from the sun to keep the inhabitants from freezing or burning to death. Only one produces plant life that can feed both humans and animals. Can we seriously believe that this delicate balance was achieved by accident? Faith tells us that God fashioned the earth purposefully for His living creations.
The Bible says that God created out nothing. There were no prior elements that He scooped up into His hand and rolled into a ball. He spoke into the nothingness and the response was immediate obedience. “Be” . . . light, water, dry ground, plant life, sun, moon and stars, and living creatures. And they were.
The Genesis account also says that these creative events occurred over six “days.” A lot of debate centers on those days. Were they really 24-hour days like we know today? Were they thousands, even millions of our years long? Were there long “gaps” between the days? I’ll not get into the “young-earth/old-earth” debates, because that is not my intent. The Bible is not written as a science manual; it is written for faith. And the first act of faith is believing that God exists; the second is believing that the Word that He has given us is true. The creation verses say that “there was evening and there was morning” – and calls that a “day.” The Hebrew terminology agrees with that understanding.
Does it really matter though? Yes it really does, but not for the sake of scientific argument.
I personally believe that this indicates a 24-hour day, but my conviction is based not so much on the descriptive text but on the One who inspired the text. If I side with the scientific versions – even from a “Christian” perspective – I have said that the very first truths of the Holy Word of God are questionable. That leaves everything else from Genesis 2 to Revelation 22 open to debate and alteration for the sake of human agreement. I have heard “Christians” say that Noah’s Ark, Jonah and the Whale, and many other biblical accounts are just myths. How easy it becomes then to question to truth of the virgin birth of Jesus, His miracles and even His resurrection. Even in the church. Think I’m stretching too far here? Go sit through a lecture at a liberal-leaning seminary. It’s a wonder students are still believers when the graduate.
Mankind has had one of three responses to the biblical account of creation:
Some receive it as truth and accept God as Creator.
Some receive it as a possible truth and add God to their harem of higher powers.
Some outright reject it and deny the power, and often the existence of God.
Charles Darwin, the father of evolutionary science admitted that it is “[extremely difficult] or rather [impossible to] conceive this immense and wonderful universe, including man” without being convicted of the existence of God. Yet he abandoned that “strong conclusion” and devised the evolutionary theory that the world has received as an alternative to the truth. (Taken from a video lecture by Dr. David DeWitt). All that he could see around him convinced him of the existence of God, but his arrogance led him to reject God. His theory has lead millions of human souls away from God and has become entangled in the church’s teaching of creation.
If the Bible is truly the Word of God, then all of it is true and must be received and believed without compromise. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Faith starts right here, at the beginning. Know what you believe and believe what you know – but be certain what you know and believe is the truth.
Father God, Creator and Sustainer of all that is, forgive us for looking to men to explain Your miraculous works. You created by your word and You wrote it down for us to believe – not to pick apart and debate. Create in us hearts that believe You above all else. Amen.
Deeper Roots 