The Creation Week

Gravity of Grace Episode 2: The Creation Week

To watch the podcast version, please click here.

What do you trust in your life? To what or whom do you turn for stability, security, and a sense of belonging in those times that try your resolve and tempt you to just give up? Have you ever trusted something or someone only to be disappointed in the end?

I can remember a time when the trust I placed in a situation turned out to be an unwise choice. Years ago, when my children and my brother’s children were still really young, I was visiting with Tony on a beautiful summer’s day. We were sitting outside, enjoying conversation and watching the kids play, and it was a very enjoyable time. And you know the type of day I am talking about: the temperature was perfect, a gentle breeze, no flying insects, and great communion with the people dear to your heart.

My nephew, who was about 2, came up to me and was willing to let me hold him, which made the day even better in my mind. About 15 minutes into holding the playful child, the old patio chair groaned under the strain, showing that I had trusted it more than it deserved. Yes, dear friends, I had just enough time to know that things were about to change, but not enough time to get Alex and myself out of the situation.

That patio chair collapsed, and we started falling into the debris.

Now, while I did not have time to get us out of the situation, by God’s good grace I had enough time to mitigate the danger the situation posed on my nephew. I raised the child as high as I could with both arms to ensure that no matter what happened, he would not get injured.

You know the type of reflex I am talking about. A split-second where your focus is solely on the safety of someone else, no matter the physical price you will pay.

My choice to trust an aging patio chair with myself and a lively child proved to be an erroneous choice. Human design and the manufacturing processes had reached the limit of their benefit because of time, wear, and tear. And my misplaced trust resulted in a bruised backside, my favorite shirt ripped, and a giggling toddler looking down at his uncle sitting in the ruins of what used to be a patio chair.

I relearned that day to be careful in what situation and in what authority to place my trust. I say I relearned that lesson because unfortunately; I have needed to repeat that lesson several times in order for it to take root in my life.

And I have finally learned to be judicious about where and in whom to place my trust.

So, dear friends, I choose to trust God through His written word. I trust Him for both the things I understand and the things that I do not understand.

In the areas where my understanding is lacking, I will study to comprehend how:

the things I see,

the things I feel,

the things I hear,

and even the things that I think are all explainable by that which is written in the Bible.

So let’s turn our attention to some of the first words in the Bible from the English Standard Version.

In the very beginning of this universe, God denoted the difference between the various spaces and a singular place. And I see that pattern continuing to this very day–there are a variety of spaces that we could go but only one place God is making for our benefit.

This is a theme that you will hear repeatedly from me. The various spaces where we experience darkness, despair, pain, and isolation which come from heeding the will of self, secular culture, or Satanic influence versus the place of light, hope, healing, and belonging prepared for us by the Spirit of the Lord God Himself.

I have found that when I heed the wisdom and ways of the Spirit that I abide in that place of light, hope, healing, and belonging. However, I have also found that when I listen to anything other than the Spirit of God as revealed in the Bible; I inevitably find myself in the spaces of darkness, despair, pain, and isolation after I become seduced by myself, the secular culture, or the rebellion of Satan.

For me, this is a binary choice: God or not God.

As I stated earlier, I have chosen to trust in God through the revelations found in scripture. And I believe the creation narrative is completely trustworthy. I also hold that the creation story presents the actual sequence of events at the start of our world — a remarkable work of art crafted by our caring Heavenly Father.

And I find hope not only in the beauty of creation but also in the process detailed for us as God made His masterpiece.

Creation-Declared Good by God.

God liked the world that He made. I know that the evening news would have us think otherwise, but shall we allow the person who was there at the beginning the chance to give His take on things before we allow the challenger, Mr. Bad Eye, Ayin Ra’ah himself, to redefine everything?

Let’s start with the things that God separated.

Day 1: God separated light from darkness. Day 2: He separated the sky from the waters (the water above and the water below). And on Day 3: God separated the sea from the dry land with its vegetation.

Allow me to summarize parts of Genesis chapter 1. God avowed that the light was good in verse four. He asserted that the dry land which was called “Earth” and the waters called “Seas” were good in verse ten. Then God stated that the plant life was good in verse twelve.

Now let’s turn our attention and look at the things God completed.

On Day 4: God completed or filled up the light and darkness when He made the sun, moon, and stars. Yes, all those things that we are striving to just understand as we explore space. Almost like a small sideline detail, He made the stars. On Day 5: God completed the sky and the water below by creating the fish and the birds. And on Day 6: He completed the land with its vegetation by creating the vast array of land animals.

Isn’t this beautifully balanced? Even the process that God used is amazing to me.

Returning to the Genesis 1 text, God professed that the Sun and the Moon were good in verse eighteen. After saying the same thing about the light in verse four.

He declared that the sea creatures, along with the birds, were good in verse twenty-one. After separating the expanse of the sky from the waters in verse seven.

He professed that the livestock and the bugs were good in verse twenty-five. After calling the dry land and the seas good in verse ten.

God said that creation with humanity or humankind was exceptionally good in verse thirty-one. I find tremendous hope and comfort because God delighted in His creation.

Good. Good. Good. God made everything good. That includes you and me. God made us good, as He knit us together in our mothers’ wombs. And although sin has damaged us. God remains active in remaking us into works of art.

God separates things for 3 days and then He goes back and fills up the things that He separated. God separated light and darkness on Day 1, then filled them on Day 4 by creating the Sun, Moon, and stars. Then God separated the sky from the waters on Day 2, and on Day 5 He filled them up with birds and aquatic animals. And finally, God separated the dry land from the sea on Day 3, then on Day 6 He filled that land with all the living creatures.

Have you ever noticed the multiple repetitions of the phrase, “And God said,” in Genesis chapter one? Me too! I mean, how can you miss it? After all, it is the first thought in verses 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, and 24. It would appear from the record in Genesis that God creates by simply speaking things into existence all the way until He makes the first human, when He changes method and gets His hands dirty, so to speak.

You see, dear friends, God continues to bring order out of chaos. He did it in the creation week, and He does it in our lives and our individual brokenness.

But wait! There’s more!

Humanity – the part of Creation that stands out like a sore thumb.

Declared very good by God

Yes, God called it very good when He made our ancestors. Can you believe that? Hey, don’t take my word for it.

Shall we return to the text?

Verse twenty-six opens up with God addressing someone who is like Him. I feel it wise to share that it is my conviction that this is God the Father addressing both God the Word (whom we would later call Jesus) and God the Spirit. As I understand it, God the Father’s proposal is for humanity’s creation to be fundamentally different from that of other created things.

The Father wants humans to be made in the image of what we call the Godhead or the Trinity. He wants us to be made in that likeness and fashioned in that image. But God does not stop there. God continues speaking, placing humanity at the apex of creation. He wants humanity to have dominion over all the other created things.

And these verses close by stating that such is exactly what the Lord of all creation did. God made humanity, male and female, in His image. The repeated use of “created” in verse twenty-seven highlights our unique construction by God, reflecting an aspect of our Heavenly Father.

God created us distinctly different from all the other things that He made. He gave us, as humanity, a position above all the rest of His created animals. He made us in His image.

And while I do not fully understand what all that entails, I am convinced that we as humans are unique among the other parts of creation. I consider this distinction to be both encouraging and significant, and believe it merits recognition whenever opportunities present themselves.

You see, God was incredibly pleased with all aspects of the world, the work of art that He initially made for us. And then God declared that humanity added to His pristine creation was an exceptionally good thing. As Genesis chapter 1, verse 31 section a stated, “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good.”

Truly, the world the Lord had made before sin entered the picture was exceedingly beautiful. He even provided a diet for all His creations, which offered peaceful co-existence between all species. I would even say that God made a masterpiece where all its inhabitants lived together in a place of light, peace, and belonging. This original masterpiece did not know despair, pain, or isolation.

Think about, grapple with, and pray about how God made everything good in the beginning. Take hope and comfort because God delighted in His creation. And allow me the grace to repeat a thought I expressed earlier.

Good. Good. Good. God made everything good. That includes you and me. God made us good, as He knit us together in our mothers’ wombs. And although sin has damaged us. God remains active in remaking us into works of art. And I openly admit that I have spent many years of my life allowing myself to see things through unhealthy perspectives.

I have allowed myself to be drawn into darkness, despair, emotional pain, and relationship isolation by focusing on the damage inflicted upon the work of art that is creation. And that choice has limited the joy that my faith in our loving Heavenly Father would otherwise have produced within me.

These books, blogs, and podcasts are my intentional shift to a perspective that allows me to abide in the place of light, hope, healing, and belonging, where I acknowledge the damage but remain rooted in the Father’s provision. A place that stands out like a shining glass marble illuminated by the light of the cross, contrasted with the darkness of space around it. My personal mental reset in my relationship with the Heavenly Father made possible by the blood of Jesus Christ.

The optimism which I find in the creation narrative found in Genesis chapter 1, detailing the six days of creation, has served to re-align my worldview to a more positive outlook. For many years I had discounted the significance of the first two chapters of Genesis, treating them as merely the stage setting or the background information to the human story. But now, I find renewed hope and encouragement by allowing myself to appreciate the things revealed in these opening chapters of the Bible.

Action Step: Realize that God continues to bring order out of chaos. He did it in the creation week, and He does it in our lives and our individual brokenness. Just like how a kintsugi jar is something beautiful made from the debris of the original, God restores, remakes, and renews us in Jesus Christ. God is working to remake you into a masterpiece.

Thank you for joining us on the Gravity of Grace blog. I am Stephen C. Meade, I am your friend, and you can reach me at Stephen@marblesuspendedinspace.com.

Again to watch the podcast version, please click here.

And I would love to hear from you. Until next time, goodbye and God bless!