January 1, 2026 - Genesis 1-2

Who can believe it?  It seems only yesterday that we were entering the new millennium and, now, here we are entering the second quarter of the century.  And here we are, again, starting a new year in the book of Genesis.  People love to argue and debate the Genesis creation narrative and what modern science tells us.  All of us can acknowledge a bit of mystery when talking about beginnings.  It’s interesting to me that God did not seek to answer all the questions we might have; rather, Moses simply drew our attention, not even so much to the creation itself, but to the One who creates.  There is so much we do not know and we find ourselves simply falling before the One who does know, worshipping him.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.  And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.  And God saw that the light was good.  And God separated the light from the darkness.  God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day” (1:1-5).  And the story continues through the remaining days, through the fall, the flood, Abraham and his descendants, the kingdoms, the wisdom writers and the prophets and their constant pointing to Messiah and, then, the coming of Messiah himself who one day will return.  What a story!  What a God!

Each little flow’r that opens,

each little bird that sings,

He made their glowing colors,

He made their tiny wings.

All things bright and beautiful,

all creatures great and small,

all things wise and wonderful,

the Lord God made them all.

The purple-headed mountain,

the river running by,

the sunset and the morning

that brightens up the sky.

The cold wind in the winter,

the pleasant summer sun,

the ripe fruits in the garden:

He made them every one.

He gave us eyes to see them,

and lips that we might tell

how great is God Almighty,

who has made all things well.   -- Cecil Frances Alexander (1848)