Craig’s Corner-September 7, 2018
Throughout these newsletter articles, I thought we could take a journey through the Scriptures. Genesis means “beginnings” and seeing as we are starting a new school year, I figured we could reflect on the beginning of Genesis, of God’s story, and ours. Genesis not only provides us with a narrative of how it all began, but a glimpse into how it will all conclude, and provides us some foundational truths along the way. These truths give us a way of viewing and understanding the world, a worldview. Everything we see or experience in our lives, whether they be local or international, natural or historical, fall into one of these three categories.
Creation (Gen. 1, 2)-”In the beginning, God created…” These words were spoken when the Apollo 8 shuttle orbited the moon on Dec. 24th, 1968. The truth is not only that God has created all, but that He did so peacefully, and designed humanity to live in peace and harmony with Him, one another, and the created world. It is written that God made man, “in His image” and therefore gave Adam and Eve a chance to live in loving relationship with Him, their loving Father.
Sin (Gen 3)-Sadly, a loving relationship requires both sides to freely choose to keep it. God always keeps His promise, but sadly humanity chose otherwise. Sin is a failure to trust God for everything in our lives. In Eden, the first two human saw what God had offered and said what we all do when we sin, “God, your best isn’t good enough for me so I will do better”. When sin entered the world, it was accompanied by chaos, disorder, and pain, and this touched every relationship we humans have: with each other, creation, and God. Praise the Lord we serve a determined God who loves us too much to lose us, because next came redemption.
Redemption (Gen 3, 4-Rev)-Almost immediately afterwards, God begins to reveal His plan to redeem humanity. He began by giving a prophecy to the crafty serpent (Gen. 3:15), then later preaches salvation to Cain (Gen. 4:6-7). He saved humanity using Noah and His family (Gen. 6-9). He blesses Abraham and his descendents, including Isaac and Jacob, and calls them to keep a loving relationship with Him. Jacob then has twelve sons, including Joseph who was similar to Jesus Christ in so many ways, including the forgiveness of his brothers who mistreated him so cruelly by stating, “Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good.” (Gen. 50:20). One could see parallels in the crucifixion and resurrection. Our sin is what put Jesus on the cross, and so what was once meant for evil, God redeemed and made it for good, and like Joseph, Jesus willingly and graciously forgives us and makes us his brothers and sisters. All throughout the Old and New Testaments, God drawing people to Himself to build a new humanity and set about his purpose to call a people who would be holy, reflecting His goodness and love. We are the inheritors and recipients of that grace. So, the next time you read Genesis, see yourself in the story as part of God’s plan that began with Adam, Noah, Abraham, and so much more and continues using you to bring about His purposes in the world.
Your Brother,
Craig