ˈjenəsəs/
noun
- the origin or mode of formation of something.
Let me begin by stating that my endeavor to blog daily regarding the readings in the One Year Plan were BOLD (basically, underestimated!). While adventurous, a full-time high school teacher, church member, and family member has to work arduously and persistently to find time to read the Bible. And while I have grown in capacity to seek the Word, blogging is a whole other ball game. Soon I found that I was reading out of obedience to blog rather than reading to know the story of God. So I stopped blogging for a while. Daily blogging in this phase of life is not a doable goal. Hey, I failed at something. That is the nature of life. Good news? I learned from my failure, recognized quickly how easily I can succumb to fleeting matters and fall so short of meeting the desires of the Lord.
I still want to blog, however, to share the story of God as he unravels it for me, in hopes of encouraging you and being encouraged by you. Please give me your thoughts throughout the process! Who says discipleship can't happen through the modern realm of technology?! We have so much at our fingertips, so let's use it for good.
Today I want to reflect on Genesis: the book, the meaning, the gift of encouragement and the gift of story that it is to us. Oddly enough, my recent blogging mistakes fit in with the theme of Genesis, so read on and find out how!
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Whenever you begin a new thing, how often do you relate that very beginning to Creation? The very first words of God's story start by saying "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the the face of the deep." How many times have you begun something fresh - maybe a brand new relationship, a hobby, a job, a habit, a living space, etc. and thought about the formlessness of the situation? Things that are brand new in our lives are often without form, often void, and many times dark. We have no idea where certain relationships are headed, where a new job might take us, how to stick out a new habit, or even where to start decorating the space of a new apartment or house. The beginning is a clean slate, and it needs a creator's touch to bring life to the situation.
But we all know the story continues. God speaks simple, powerful commands and the darkness and void that once was becomes a creation full of living, breathing, beings. Adam and Eve are incredible pieces of artwork and design by God. They were without form, they were in the dark, and yet with the power of God they came onto the scene and earth tasted the most real hints of God's glory and nature. Even more, he allowed man to take part in that creative process and to multiply more of these hints of the Creator. We often see this in our own beginnings as well. We start to see the good things in our new endeavors, and we multiply the good in our circumstances. If we're dating someone new, we begin to see their likes and pursue those life-giving things. If we're working at a new place, we soon realize what makes our workplace function properly or what makes our bosses happy and we do our best to create those circumstances. We, in fact, are seeing the fruits of labor, saying "It is good" and demanding that more be made of it.
Unfortunately, throughout Genesis, sinners stepped in and ruined the fruits of good labor. Noah was able to regenerate the earth after the flood, but yet again the vices of human flesh prevailed. Abraham demonstrates to us the faithfulness of a humble man, and through generations of Isaac, Jacob and Joseph we see more godly men rise up and decide to follow the Lord's commands, realizing that he is the Creator of all that they knew. But sin still won many times, and so death and pain and mistakes had to happen. Men still did stupid things, unspeakable things. With each generation there was hope of a new genesis, a new awakening of the Spirit of God in man and a new desire to be the first fruits of God's creation, to give Him good and plenty reason to yet again say "It is good."
And how convicting! If I were to end each day asking God, "Even as you see me, do You still say it is good?", I would be hard pressed to hear the answer and be promptly turned to repentance.
As the book of Genesis comes to a close, however, God ends the tune with a sustaining chord. It's as if he's saying, this story is still going, and I am beginning a new thing yet again. So even as the book of Genesis comes to an end, he is actually beginning a new endeavor. In the final chapters, Jacob prophesies over his children and comes to tell of the blessings and curses that will come upon his 12 children. These children become the 12 tribes of Israel, the nation of Israel, whose story carries on not only through the Bible but to our very prevalent headlines today. It's as if the first movie of a series of movies just ended, and it was so good and so tragic and so dramatic all at the same time, and the ending leaves you hanging with what is coming next. You have to go see the second movie, except this time the story is continued through the Bible. In the middle of all the chaos of the beginning days of the earth, God is telling us that we have only just begun. He is demonstrating to us that He is still seeking a living story for the earth, and He is bringing all things to new life. Joseph's words sum up the entire first book succinctly: "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive." God saw so many evil things done in the midst of his beautiful, new creation, and yet He did not let evil conquer the trajectory of goodness that He ordained for the earth. His spirt hovered over the earth from the first moments to bring life to a formless and void world. Make no mistake- his spirit is still hovering to bring life to even the most formless and darkness of circumstances in our lives. Did you step off on the wrong foot? Did you do something stupid? Did you begin a relationship or a habit that seems unfixable? Did you sin and sin again and sin even more? (Did I underestimate the commitment of blogging and lost sight of the importance of the story of God? Yes!) We all have. We all have fallen short of the glory of God, of the original design for us. But he did not stop redeeming the fallen in Genesis, and he does not stop now. Do not be afraid to let regeneration occur. Let the Spirit hover, let him linger. Do not push Him away. He is here, and he is saying "Let us make man after our likeness" because he sees that it is good. Let him do just that.
Dear Creator, every day that I rise, let me welcome the Spirit to begin something anew, to redeem a sinful heart, to render a faithful life, to breathe light and life into my bones, and to humble myself to beginning with You and You alone. Amen