Above all else Genesis says this: God did it
The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.
The biology teacher displays a chart showing six animals. At one end is an ape standing upright, its hands swinging below its knees.
At the other end, a rather hairy, stooped man in skins. These are the stages of human evolution,” the teacher declares, “over a period of several million years.”
One agonized student shoots up his hand. “I believe in the Bible,” he stammers, “that God made the earth and that the first man was Adam.”
The teacher lets him finish, then dismisses his view. Everybody is a tree to have his own religious beliefs. But science has proven that evolution is a fact.”
Scenes like this have thrown confusion over the first three chapters of the Bible. It’s impossible to read about Adam and Eve without wondering how they fit in with the bones anthropologists proclaim as “earliest man.”
These differences stir up controversy, even in court cases. Certainly, they are important issues. It’s unfortunate that they distract attention from the main truth Genesis teaches.
Above everything else, its witness is this: God did it. We are not here by accident, nor are we here merely to please ourselves. We owe our very existence to God. Every helium atom, every spiral galaxy, and every living creature exists because God wants it to. Genesis 1-3 is the artist’s signature on the painting, saying. “This is mine.”
Genesis 1-3 pays humanity its highest compliment. After making all the glories of the world, God topped off his work with man and woman. He put them in charge. Unlike the animals, they were like him, “in his image.” “Very good, ” he said to himself when he had finished. With humans he quit, satisfied.
Nobody, including God, has been satisfied with human beings since then. We were made good, but we disobeyed God right from the beginning. We’ve been suffering the consequences ever since. Genesis helps us understand why the universe is so flagrantly lovely yet so tragic. It is lovely because God made it. But it is tragic because he trusted it to us and we failed.
Life Question:
People say they can see God reflected in stars, forests, and sunsets. What about people? How can you see God’s artistry in them?