Oh no, it's one of those genealogy chapters, one of those places in the Bible where I suspected the going might get tough on this looking-for-God's-heart blogging adventure.
At first glance, chapter 10 just looked like a list of the sons of Noah ... and their sons ... and their sons. Mostly names that are hard to pronounce and easy to forget.
I wondered what I could possibly learn here about who God is, very aware that if I don't learn something, I can't write anything. And if I don't write anything, then well, the wheels are coming off my blog just 10 chapters in.
So I read and reread chapter 10. And about the third time through, I saw something rather important woven through the verses -- one world becoming many nations.
Noah's descendants obviously did multiply and fill the earth, because, well, here we are today, with people just about everywhere. The "coastlands of the nations were separated into their lands, every one according to his language, according to their families, into their nations" (verse 5).
It's not exactly a picture of a close-knit family living up on Walton's Mountain together, is it?
This chapter seems a little sad to me, even though all this going of separate ways was necessary. Maybe because I'm a South Carolina mama with one of my sons and his family living in California. I know how it feels to have a piece of my heart carried a whole continent away.
So I wonder how our future-knowing God felt about all of this family break-up business among Noah's descendants? Yes, it was His idea, but as I read the names of Noah's descendants and the places they settled, I tripped over several who later became thorns in the side of God and His people. I couldn't help but wonder how God can stand to be God, knowing the future -- especially the painful, evil, dysfunctional things?
This listing of Noah's descendants and their locales included names like Babel, Assyria, Nineveh, Sodom, and Gomorrah. And all those evil "-ites" -- those people who later dogged the Hebrew nation as God's chosen people tried to settle into their inheritance in the Promised Land. (Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, Hivites, and so on.)
All these folks started out as one family -- Noah's family. But here in chapter 10, we read how that family "separated," "went forth," "was spread abroad," and "divided." And God knew that thousands of bloody years would pass before the people He created would ever happily and peacefully reunite again as one family -- His family. He knew He'd have to watch countless murders, wars, atrocities and injustices before His righteousness finally prevails.
Watching Noah's family disperse, God knew what was coming, and I'm thinking the only way He could stand to watch it all was because He knew He had a perfect plan. Before the foundation of the world, God formed His master plan of redemption, a plan that required the separation of people, beginning here with Noah's clan, into different nations and languages. All so that He could ultimately bring His children together again, perfectly and forever, in His new heaven and earth.
The "-ites," Egyptians, Assyrians and other ancient enemies of God couldn't thwart God's plan ... and neither can His enemies today, though they be many.
So, yes, Genesis 10 is more than a tedious genealogy. It's yet another example of the incredibly patient heart and matchless brilliance of our sovereign God.
He has a plan, He works His plan, and thankfully, He always, always prevails.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
Genesis 9: How We Finish Matters
It's hard to put myself in the sandals of Noah and his family here in Genesis 9 as they emerged from the ark and started their lives all over from scratch. The traumatic, tragic flood was over and they now found themselves in a world radically different from the one they knew before.
They walked onto dry land with just a few animals, each other and God. Would it be enough?
In a word, yes.
God proved Himself faithful, continuing to take care of Noah and his clan, anticipating their fears and questions, providing instructions and reassurances before they even asked.
I don't know what these people were feeling or thinking, but I probably would have wondered, "What are we supposed to do now? Is there anything left to eat around here? Where are we supposed to go? How do we start over? What rules does God want us to follow? If He gets mad at us, will He bring another flood?"
(Or perhaps because I'm really squeamish and wimpy, "Am I going to step on any dead bodies when I get off this boat?")
Here's my (admittedly inadequate) summary of what God told them here in Chapter 9:
"We need more people on the earth, so make babies. You're at the top of the food chain around here, so eat anything you want to, but be sure you drain the blood from anything you're going to eat. Every living creature, including you, is going to eventually die, but if you unjustly take the life of another human being, you'll face judgment because every person is created in My image. The weather is going to be different than it was before. Rain will come and go and yes, at first that's going to seem very scary to you, but here's My promise: I'll never again destroy the whole earth with a flood. In fact, I'll give you a sign to seal this promise -- a rainbow in the sky. The rainbow will remind us both of My covenant."
I love that God proactively addressed what may have been the biggest questions and fears in the minds and hearts of Noah and his family. God was surely still heartbroken Himself (though not surprised) over the fall and subsequent destruction of His creation, but He loved this tiny band of survivors enough to give them, in that moment, what they most needed: purpose, instruction, boundaries, reassurance and hope.
Oh, if only Chapter 9 had ended with this tender scene.
But it didn't.
Unfortunately, we have to deal with the second half of this chapter, which reads like a script from a bad soap opera.
Fortunately, since my sole purpose is to look for God's heart in these verses, I don't have to spend much time here on the sordid details of that second half -- righteous Noah getting drunk and naked, his son's mocking, shocking disrespect, and the curse Noah then pronounced upon that son's branch of the family tree.
I just want to try to see God's heart in it and through it, and all I can imagine about that is that all these goings-on surely must have stung His heart. Only one family left on earth and already it appears to be in shambles.
I'm sure God wanted Noah to hit the tape at the end of his long, long race running well, as He wants us all to do. But it doesn't look like that happened. It looks like the first part of Noah's life was more righteous than the last, and that is always sad.
Was Noah's "drunk-and-naked" episode really a big deal to God? Well, God doesn't actually tell us. In fact, He doesn't speak at all in the last half of Genesis 9. But the fact that He chose to include the shameful incident in His Word seems significant. God could have simply left it out and we would never have known about this embarrassing skeleton in Noah's family closet.
We could have been left with an image of Noah that was only righteous, only courageous. Noah who believed God when no one else did. Noah who endured decades of relentless ridicule while he steadfastly obeyed the unusual, difficult orders of his God. Noah, our faithful hero.
But God chose to let us see Noah's feet of clay here at the end of Chapter 9 and that makes me think two things: 1) God wants to remind us that only He is perfect and worthy of exaltation and 2) God really cares how we finish our lives. Even men and women of great faith and courage can get sloppy and mess up their legacies.
It's not enough to start strong or have a tremendous burst in the middle of our races. It also very much matters how we finish.
I don't want my race to end like Noah's.
They walked onto dry land with just a few animals, each other and God. Would it be enough?
In a word, yes.
God proved Himself faithful, continuing to take care of Noah and his clan, anticipating their fears and questions, providing instructions and reassurances before they even asked.
I don't know what these people were feeling or thinking, but I probably would have wondered, "What are we supposed to do now? Is there anything left to eat around here? Where are we supposed to go? How do we start over? What rules does God want us to follow? If He gets mad at us, will He bring another flood?"
(Or perhaps because I'm really squeamish and wimpy, "Am I going to step on any dead bodies when I get off this boat?")
Here's my (admittedly inadequate) summary of what God told them here in Chapter 9:
"We need more people on the earth, so make babies. You're at the top of the food chain around here, so eat anything you want to, but be sure you drain the blood from anything you're going to eat. Every living creature, including you, is going to eventually die, but if you unjustly take the life of another human being, you'll face judgment because every person is created in My image. The weather is going to be different than it was before. Rain will come and go and yes, at first that's going to seem very scary to you, but here's My promise: I'll never again destroy the whole earth with a flood. In fact, I'll give you a sign to seal this promise -- a rainbow in the sky. The rainbow will remind us both of My covenant."
I love that God proactively addressed what may have been the biggest questions and fears in the minds and hearts of Noah and his family. God was surely still heartbroken Himself (though not surprised) over the fall and subsequent destruction of His creation, but He loved this tiny band of survivors enough to give them, in that moment, what they most needed: purpose, instruction, boundaries, reassurance and hope.
Oh, if only Chapter 9 had ended with this tender scene.
But it didn't.
Unfortunately, we have to deal with the second half of this chapter, which reads like a script from a bad soap opera.
Fortunately, since my sole purpose is to look for God's heart in these verses, I don't have to spend much time here on the sordid details of that second half -- righteous Noah getting drunk and naked, his son's mocking, shocking disrespect, and the curse Noah then pronounced upon that son's branch of the family tree.
I just want to try to see God's heart in it and through it, and all I can imagine about that is that all these goings-on surely must have stung His heart. Only one family left on earth and already it appears to be in shambles.
I'm sure God wanted Noah to hit the tape at the end of his long, long race running well, as He wants us all to do. But it doesn't look like that happened. It looks like the first part of Noah's life was more righteous than the last, and that is always sad.
Was Noah's "drunk-and-naked" episode really a big deal to God? Well, God doesn't actually tell us. In fact, He doesn't speak at all in the last half of Genesis 9. But the fact that He chose to include the shameful incident in His Word seems significant. God could have simply left it out and we would never have known about this embarrassing skeleton in Noah's family closet.
We could have been left with an image of Noah that was only righteous, only courageous. Noah who believed God when no one else did. Noah who endured decades of relentless ridicule while he steadfastly obeyed the unusual, difficult orders of his God. Noah, our faithful hero.
But God chose to let us see Noah's feet of clay here at the end of Chapter 9 and that makes me think two things: 1) God wants to remind us that only He is perfect and worthy of exaltation and 2) God really cares how we finish our lives. Even men and women of great faith and courage can get sloppy and mess up their legacies.
It's not enough to start strong or have a tremendous burst in the middle of our races. It also very much matters how we finish.
I don't want my race to end like Noah's.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Genesis 8: Off the Ark and On His Knees
Why on earth do I ever doubt that God is in control?
His sovereignty is sprinkled all over Genesis 8 ... and all over this world and our lives.
The chapter begins with the reassuring truth that God didn't forget Noah and his arkmates. Well, of course not. After all, there wasn't anybody else left on earth.
But suppose it said here that God did forget about them, even for just a minute? Think about how disconcerting that would be. If I let myself imagine that, then I can appreciate the truth that God didn't forget Noah ... and He doesn't forget us as we bob up and down on our arks in this fallen world.
I see in Genesis 8 that at the right time, God conducted the forces of nature like a mighty orchestra to recreate our planet. He caused the wind to blow and the waters to subside; He closed the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky; He restrained the rain.
And He did it all in perfect order, with perfect power and precision.
I see that in all the references in this chapter to specific dates and times:
... at the end of 150 days the water decreased
... the ark rested upon a mountain on the 17th day of the 7th month
... on the first day of the 10th month, the tops of the mountains became visible
... 40 days later, Noah opened the window
... he sent out birds every seven days to seek land
... on the first day of the first month of the 601st year, the surface of the ground was dried up
... on the 27th day of the second month, the earth was dry.
Honestly, it sounds like a woman describing something to a man who just wishes she'd skip all the details and get to the point.
But these time and number details aren't just irrelevant fluff. No, I think they confirm that the events in Genesis 8 actually happened, and happened according to God's timetable -- a God who obviously cares about details.
Do you ever feel like our eternal, transcending-time-and-space God forgets how long some of our hours and days and years seem ?
He doesn't. He counts them with us. He's not bound by time, but He is obviously quite aware of it.
"And on the 14th day of the 5th month of the 1,957th year, Mary Ann was born. And on the 28th day of the 8th month of the 2,013th year, Mary Ann sat down, read my Word and wrote this blog post."
And on any particular day of any particular month of any particular year, He knows what you're going through, how long it will last, and exactly how to unfold His plan in your life ... and in this world.
He sees and He knows.
I can't leave Genesis 8 without also mentioning the very first thing Noah did when he finally got off that ark: "Then Noah built an altar to the Lord ... and offered burnt offerings on the altar." (vs. 20)
Noah worshipped God.
After all he'd been through -- all those months tossed around by waves on a boat full of stinky, noisy animals; all those months of fear and uncertainty and discomfort -- after all that, Noah worshipped God.
He wasn't bitter over what God had done to him; he was grateful for what God had done for him.
Easy to see why God chose Noah, isn't it?
And God "smelled the soothing aroma" of Noah's worship and said, "'...I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.'" (vs. 21)
Worship matters to God.
God remembers. God restores. God notices. God responds. God rewards. God controls.
Don't know about you, but I'm glad I'm His.
His sovereignty is sprinkled all over Genesis 8 ... and all over this world and our lives.
The chapter begins with the reassuring truth that God didn't forget Noah and his arkmates. Well, of course not. After all, there wasn't anybody else left on earth.
But suppose it said here that God did forget about them, even for just a minute? Think about how disconcerting that would be. If I let myself imagine that, then I can appreciate the truth that God didn't forget Noah ... and He doesn't forget us as we bob up and down on our arks in this fallen world.
I see in Genesis 8 that at the right time, God conducted the forces of nature like a mighty orchestra to recreate our planet. He caused the wind to blow and the waters to subside; He closed the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky; He restrained the rain.
And He did it all in perfect order, with perfect power and precision.
I see that in all the references in this chapter to specific dates and times:
... at the end of 150 days the water decreased
... the ark rested upon a mountain on the 17th day of the 7th month
... on the first day of the 10th month, the tops of the mountains became visible
... 40 days later, Noah opened the window
... he sent out birds every seven days to seek land
... on the first day of the first month of the 601st year, the surface of the ground was dried up
... on the 27th day of the second month, the earth was dry.
Honestly, it sounds like a woman describing something to a man who just wishes she'd skip all the details and get to the point.
But these time and number details aren't just irrelevant fluff. No, I think they confirm that the events in Genesis 8 actually happened, and happened according to God's timetable -- a God who obviously cares about details.
Do you ever feel like our eternal, transcending-time-and-space God forgets how long some of our hours and days and years seem ?
He doesn't. He counts them with us. He's not bound by time, but He is obviously quite aware of it.
"And on the 14th day of the 5th month of the 1,957th year, Mary Ann was born. And on the 28th day of the 8th month of the 2,013th year, Mary Ann sat down, read my Word and wrote this blog post."
And on any particular day of any particular month of any particular year, He knows what you're going through, how long it will last, and exactly how to unfold His plan in your life ... and in this world.
He sees and He knows.
I can't leave Genesis 8 without also mentioning the very first thing Noah did when he finally got off that ark: "Then Noah built an altar to the Lord ... and offered burnt offerings on the altar." (vs. 20)
Noah worshipped God.
After all he'd been through -- all those months tossed around by waves on a boat full of stinky, noisy animals; all those months of fear and uncertainty and discomfort -- after all that, Noah worshipped God.
He wasn't bitter over what God had done to him; he was grateful for what God had done for him.
Easy to see why God chose Noah, isn't it?
And God "smelled the soothing aroma" of Noah's worship and said, "'...I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.'" (vs. 21)
Worship matters to God.
God remembers. God restores. God notices. God responds. God rewards. God controls.
Don't know about you, but I'm glad I'm His.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Genesis 7: Looking for People to Save
God was looking for people to save.
He found only one: Noah.
We have a choice to make when we read Genesis 7. We can choose to focus on all the people who died in the great flood God brought upon the earth OR we can focus on the one man God saved (along with his very fortunate, coattail-riding family members).
If we focus only on the horror of those who perished in the flood, we're likely to get the wrong idea about God's heart and character. If we go down that path, it's hard not to wonder how God could be loving and yet blot out children, puppies and literally everything "in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life" (vs. 22).
That's the very rock upon which many souls have shipwrecked, isn't it?
How could a good God not only allow suffering and death, but actually even cause it, as He did here?
Well, this is exactly why I believe it's incredibly important to look at all of God's Word to see what He is really like. If we pull isolated, admittedly tough stories like this one out of context, we're doomed to come to wrong conclusions about who God is.
That's why, in fact, I set out on this blogging adventure -- to have a truer, more complete knowledge of this God I've chosen to follow.
As I mentioned in some earlier posts, I think we just can't comprehend how evil evil really is, how pervasive it had become by Genesis 7, and how much destruction and pain it causes. In truth, God didn't destroy anything in the flood that wasn't already doomed to self-destruct anyway. The sinful choices of earth's inhabitants had already set the planet on a quick path to destruction. Things fall apart pretty fast when evil takes over, whether we're talking about individual lives or entire civilizations.
Let's not overlook the incredibly important truth here in Genesis 7 that God was actively looking for people to save, desperately looking for any whose hearts were turned toward Him. Yes, "innocent" children were killed in the great flood, but we mustn't forget that God sees all of time and He knew the path those kids were going down. There was obviously, literally no hope for any of them in a world gone so wrong. Removing them from such pervasive, destructive evil was evidently the most loving option. (Let me quickly add here that ONLY God can ever make a call like that. It's never ... ever ... okay for us to kill babies or children using this same rationale. We don't know what God knows.)
I see in Genesis 7 that sin is a big, big deal to God. It destroys all the good plans He has for His creation. It grieves Him and yes, it makes Him righteously angry. And even though God is full of grace, mercy, patience and longsuffering, we should never forget that sin is still a big deal to Him. Letting it go too far is playing with fire ... or water, in this case. Lots of water.
It's also clear in Genesis 7 that God sees those who honor Him. He sees. Sometimes we think He doesn't, but He does. And He so cared about righteous Noah that He even allowed him to bring his unrighteous loved ones onto the ark with him. Noah's wives, kids and daughters-in-law should have been pretty darn thankful for old Noah and his godly heart. He was the only thing keeping them from sleeping with the fishes. Why did God do that? Why did He spare Noah's family? Well, maybe to spare Noah additional pain. I mean, this whole ark and flood thing was no picnic for Noah, and he might have been completely shattered if he had lost everyone he loved. And really, would Noah have felt blessed and rewarded by God if he had been stuck on the ark completely alone with a bunch of stinky, noisy, high-maintenance animals?
Or maybe God spared Noah's family because, practically speaking, God obviously needed some people to survive and replenish the earth. Oh sure, He could have opted to replay Genesis 1 again -- sort of a "Creation Remix" -- but I think it's interesting that He chose not to go that route. Maybe because when God sets a plan in motion, He sees it through until the end. One garden of Eden, one sinless couple, one fall. Personally, I don't think God wanted to go through all of that again. He had a plan in place and knew that He could ultimately keep working His plan, even with fallen creatures constantly trying to thwart it, until He brings about the eternally perfect new heaven and earth Scripture promises.
Whatever the reason, Noah's family got a free pass from the flood.
It's theologically tricky to sort it all out -- way above my pay grade and beyond my intellect -- but throughout the Scriptures we see examples and indications that our own holiness in some ways and in some situations profoundly impacts the well-being of our loved ones. When we're blessed, they often are, too. Ultimately, we will all stand before God individually to give an account for what we did with God's offer of eternal salvation through faith in Christ, but this I know: The most loving thing we can do in this life for the people we love is to walk intimately and passionately with God. Some of our blessings are sure to spill out on them.
God was not looking for people He could sadistically destroy. He was looking for people He could save.
He still is.
That's the heart of the God I love.
He found only one: Noah.
We have a choice to make when we read Genesis 7. We can choose to focus on all the people who died in the great flood God brought upon the earth OR we can focus on the one man God saved (along with his very fortunate, coattail-riding family members).
If we focus only on the horror of those who perished in the flood, we're likely to get the wrong idea about God's heart and character. If we go down that path, it's hard not to wonder how God could be loving and yet blot out children, puppies and literally everything "in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life" (vs. 22).
That's the very rock upon which many souls have shipwrecked, isn't it?
How could a good God not only allow suffering and death, but actually even cause it, as He did here?
Well, this is exactly why I believe it's incredibly important to look at all of God's Word to see what He is really like. If we pull isolated, admittedly tough stories like this one out of context, we're doomed to come to wrong conclusions about who God is.
That's why, in fact, I set out on this blogging adventure -- to have a truer, more complete knowledge of this God I've chosen to follow.
As I mentioned in some earlier posts, I think we just can't comprehend how evil evil really is, how pervasive it had become by Genesis 7, and how much destruction and pain it causes. In truth, God didn't destroy anything in the flood that wasn't already doomed to self-destruct anyway. The sinful choices of earth's inhabitants had already set the planet on a quick path to destruction. Things fall apart pretty fast when evil takes over, whether we're talking about individual lives or entire civilizations.
Let's not overlook the incredibly important truth here in Genesis 7 that God was actively looking for people to save, desperately looking for any whose hearts were turned toward Him. Yes, "innocent" children were killed in the great flood, but we mustn't forget that God sees all of time and He knew the path those kids were going down. There was obviously, literally no hope for any of them in a world gone so wrong. Removing them from such pervasive, destructive evil was evidently the most loving option. (Let me quickly add here that ONLY God can ever make a call like that. It's never ... ever ... okay for us to kill babies or children using this same rationale. We don't know what God knows.)
I see in Genesis 7 that sin is a big, big deal to God. It destroys all the good plans He has for His creation. It grieves Him and yes, it makes Him righteously angry. And even though God is full of grace, mercy, patience and longsuffering, we should never forget that sin is still a big deal to Him. Letting it go too far is playing with fire ... or water, in this case. Lots of water.
It's also clear in Genesis 7 that God sees those who honor Him. He sees. Sometimes we think He doesn't, but He does. And He so cared about righteous Noah that He even allowed him to bring his unrighteous loved ones onto the ark with him. Noah's wives, kids and daughters-in-law should have been pretty darn thankful for old Noah and his godly heart. He was the only thing keeping them from sleeping with the fishes. Why did God do that? Why did He spare Noah's family? Well, maybe to spare Noah additional pain. I mean, this whole ark and flood thing was no picnic for Noah, and he might have been completely shattered if he had lost everyone he loved. And really, would Noah have felt blessed and rewarded by God if he had been stuck on the ark completely alone with a bunch of stinky, noisy, high-maintenance animals?
Or maybe God spared Noah's family because, practically speaking, God obviously needed some people to survive and replenish the earth. Oh sure, He could have opted to replay Genesis 1 again -- sort of a "Creation Remix" -- but I think it's interesting that He chose not to go that route. Maybe because when God sets a plan in motion, He sees it through until the end. One garden of Eden, one sinless couple, one fall. Personally, I don't think God wanted to go through all of that again. He had a plan in place and knew that He could ultimately keep working His plan, even with fallen creatures constantly trying to thwart it, until He brings about the eternally perfect new heaven and earth Scripture promises.
Whatever the reason, Noah's family got a free pass from the flood.
It's theologically tricky to sort it all out -- way above my pay grade and beyond my intellect -- but throughout the Scriptures we see examples and indications that our own holiness in some ways and in some situations profoundly impacts the well-being of our loved ones. When we're blessed, they often are, too. Ultimately, we will all stand before God individually to give an account for what we did with God's offer of eternal salvation through faith in Christ, but this I know: The most loving thing we can do in this life for the people we love is to walk intimately and passionately with God. Some of our blessings are sure to spill out on them.
God was not looking for people He could sadistically destroy. He was looking for people He could save.
He still is.
That's the heart of the God I love.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Genesis 6: Just Like Noah
Well, if you've ever wondered if God has a heart, here's your answer in Genesis 6. Check out verse 6: "The Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart."
There it is. God was grieved in His heart. So, yes, God has a heart. A heart so real and soft that it can be grieved, and it surely was.
Have you ever invested so much in a dream and then watched that dream turn into a nightmare?
Have you ever wanted only good for someone you deeply love and then had that person completely misunderstand, ignore, betray and abandon you?
Have you ever watched someone close to you make choices that wrecked their lives?
Have you ever felt rejected by every single person in your world except one friend -- one true friend -- who believed in you, stood by you and sacrificed their own reputation to defend you?
If so, you understand how God may have been feeling here in Genesis 6.
Wow, just a few pages ago, God seemed quite delighted by all He had made. "It was good," He said. Now, four chapters later, He was sorry He'd made it. Things went south in a hurry on this fallen planet.
We may sometimes look around and think our world is going to hell in a handbasket, but we've never seen the kind of evil that had taken over in the days of Genesis 6.
"Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Verse 5)
EVERY intent. ONLY evil CONTINUALLY.
Evil on steroids. Worse than bad.
So, we read these tragic words: "The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth ..." (vs. 6)
God's perfect, glorious, loving intentions for His cherished creatures had gone unrealized because He had given man the freedom and dignity to choose ... or not choose ... to live in relationship with Him.
We read in Genesis 6 that only one man -- just ONE -- chose to walk with God at this point in time. The rest went their own way, and their own way was evil. (Selfish and bad are the default settings in a fallen world.)
Noah was that one who chose God's way over his own: "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord ... Noah was a righteous man, blameless in His time; Noah walked with God."
Noah -- a tiny, tiny flicker of light in the vast, smothering darkness of a thoroughly evil world. But God saw the tiny flicker, and He loved that flicker, and He saved it, and fanned it. And here I am (and you too, I hope) -- millions of flickers of light who have chosen God's way, just like Noah did.
And here we are, just like Noah, in a world that is far too evil.
And here we are, just like Noah, with a chance to bless the heart of God by accepting the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, by being blameless in our time, by walking with God.
But, unlike Noah, we don't have to build an ark to escape the coming, just wrath of God. He 's already provided a lifeboat: Jesus.
All who climb aboard and trust Him will be saved.
Just like Noah.
There it is. God was grieved in His heart. So, yes, God has a heart. A heart so real and soft that it can be grieved, and it surely was.
Have you ever invested so much in a dream and then watched that dream turn into a nightmare?
Have you ever wanted only good for someone you deeply love and then had that person completely misunderstand, ignore, betray and abandon you?
Have you ever watched someone close to you make choices that wrecked their lives?
Have you ever felt rejected by every single person in your world except one friend -- one true friend -- who believed in you, stood by you and sacrificed their own reputation to defend you?
If so, you understand how God may have been feeling here in Genesis 6.
Wow, just a few pages ago, God seemed quite delighted by all He had made. "It was good," He said. Now, four chapters later, He was sorry He'd made it. Things went south in a hurry on this fallen planet.
We may sometimes look around and think our world is going to hell in a handbasket, but we've never seen the kind of evil that had taken over in the days of Genesis 6.
"Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Verse 5)
EVERY intent. ONLY evil CONTINUALLY.
Evil on steroids. Worse than bad.
So, we read these tragic words: "The Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth ..." (vs. 6)
God's perfect, glorious, loving intentions for His cherished creatures had gone unrealized because He had given man the freedom and dignity to choose ... or not choose ... to live in relationship with Him.
We read in Genesis 6 that only one man -- just ONE -- chose to walk with God at this point in time. The rest went their own way, and their own way was evil. (Selfish and bad are the default settings in a fallen world.)
Noah was that one who chose God's way over his own: "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord ... Noah was a righteous man, blameless in His time; Noah walked with God."
Noah -- a tiny, tiny flicker of light in the vast, smothering darkness of a thoroughly evil world. But God saw the tiny flicker, and He loved that flicker, and He saved it, and fanned it. And here I am (and you too, I hope) -- millions of flickers of light who have chosen God's way, just like Noah did.
And here we are, just like Noah, in a world that is far too evil.
And here we are, just like Noah, with a chance to bless the heart of God by accepting the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, by being blameless in our time, by walking with God.
But, unlike Noah, we don't have to build an ark to escape the coming, just wrath of God. He 's already provided a lifeboat: Jesus.
All who climb aboard and trust Him will be saved.
Just like Noah.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Genesis 5: I Want to be an Enoch
Let the "begats" begin.
Genesis 5 gives us a glimpse of the first family tree down through Noah's sons --11 generations, by my count -- and I am stunned anew at how easily we humans abandon the One who made us to live in His love and blessings.
But before I get to that important issue, I just have to comment on something much less important. Please tell me I'm not the only one who noticed that none of the men listed in Genesis 5 started "begetting" until they were more than 65 years old; some were "begetting," in fact, when they were way past 100.
That's weirdly impressive, but I honestly don't want to think about living six or seven hundred years, like those folks did. And I sure don't want to think about "begetting" at the age of 100 ... or 75 ... or even 56. Seriously, let's picture a group of 150-year-old soccer moms sitting in the bleachers. And now let's quickly erase that picture from our brains. Good grief, if I lived back then, I'd only be a relative toddler at my current age. Makes me tired to think about it.
Why did people live so much longer in those days? The explanation I've most often heard is this: the cascading ravages of the fall had not yet affected and infected creation to the extent they now do.
As amazing as our human bodies and the natural wonders of this earth still are, everything in our world is, nevertheless, a broken and distorted version of what God originally intended. I'm guessing that God probably doesn't look upon creation now and still declare, "It is very good," as He did in the beginning.
But neither is He in a panic about what He sees. After all, God has had the blueprints for the glorious new heaven and earth spread out before Him all along. He knows what's coming for those who believe and receive redemption through Jesus Christ, and it is indeed very good.
The other thing I see here in Genesis 5 is the sad, obvious reality that just 10 generations removed from that initial, perfect fellowship between God and man in the Garden of Eden, people who walk faithfully with God had obviously become the exception and not the rule.
The good news is that God's pleasure in those exceptions is apparent and important.
Take Enoch, for example. We may not know much about this fellow, but we do know the most important thing: "And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him." (Genesis 5:24)
It's pure speculation, doubtlessly intended for effect and not for literal accuracy, but I heard a wonderful description of what might have transpired when Enoch was "taken" by God. Here's how it went:
"Maybe Enoch and God had walked so far together that God just turned to him one day and said, 'Enoch, we're a lot closer to My house than yours, so why don't you just come home with Me?'"
I like that. It may not have gone down just that way, but I like the picture it paints in my mind and the questions it makes me ponder:
"What was it about Enoch that made him so special to God?"
"How was Enoch's relationship with his Creator different from everybody else's?"
"What went wrong with those other guys listed in Genesis 5?"
Out of all the generations mentioned here, only Enoch and Noah (who is praised in the next chapter) apparently had noteworthy relationships with God.
Later on in this journey through God's Word, we'll read in 2 Chronicles 16:9 how God is always looking for hearts that are completely His so that--get this--He can strongly support those people.
That's the heart of God. He's looking for people to support and bless. He longs to walk with those who long to walk with Him.
I want to be one of those. I want to be an Enoch.
Genesis 5 gives us a glimpse of the first family tree down through Noah's sons --11 generations, by my count -- and I am stunned anew at how easily we humans abandon the One who made us to live in His love and blessings.
But before I get to that important issue, I just have to comment on something much less important. Please tell me I'm not the only one who noticed that none of the men listed in Genesis 5 started "begetting" until they were more than 65 years old; some were "begetting," in fact, when they were way past 100.
That's weirdly impressive, but I honestly don't want to think about living six or seven hundred years, like those folks did. And I sure don't want to think about "begetting" at the age of 100 ... or 75 ... or even 56. Seriously, let's picture a group of 150-year-old soccer moms sitting in the bleachers. And now let's quickly erase that picture from our brains. Good grief, if I lived back then, I'd only be a relative toddler at my current age. Makes me tired to think about it.
Why did people live so much longer in those days? The explanation I've most often heard is this: the cascading ravages of the fall had not yet affected and infected creation to the extent they now do.
As amazing as our human bodies and the natural wonders of this earth still are, everything in our world is, nevertheless, a broken and distorted version of what God originally intended. I'm guessing that God probably doesn't look upon creation now and still declare, "It is very good," as He did in the beginning.
But neither is He in a panic about what He sees. After all, God has had the blueprints for the glorious new heaven and earth spread out before Him all along. He knows what's coming for those who believe and receive redemption through Jesus Christ, and it is indeed very good.
The other thing I see here in Genesis 5 is the sad, obvious reality that just 10 generations removed from that initial, perfect fellowship between God and man in the Garden of Eden, people who walk faithfully with God had obviously become the exception and not the rule.
The good news is that God's pleasure in those exceptions is apparent and important.
Take Enoch, for example. We may not know much about this fellow, but we do know the most important thing: "And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him." (Genesis 5:24)
It's pure speculation, doubtlessly intended for effect and not for literal accuracy, but I heard a wonderful description of what might have transpired when Enoch was "taken" by God. Here's how it went:
"Maybe Enoch and God had walked so far together that God just turned to him one day and said, 'Enoch, we're a lot closer to My house than yours, so why don't you just come home with Me?'"
I like that. It may not have gone down just that way, but I like the picture it paints in my mind and the questions it makes me ponder:
"What was it about Enoch that made him so special to God?"
"How was Enoch's relationship with his Creator different from everybody else's?"
"What went wrong with those other guys listed in Genesis 5?"
Out of all the generations mentioned here, only Enoch and Noah (who is praised in the next chapter) apparently had noteworthy relationships with God.
Later on in this journey through God's Word, we'll read in 2 Chronicles 16:9 how God is always looking for hearts that are completely His so that--get this--He can strongly support those people.
That's the heart of God. He's looking for people to support and bless. He longs to walk with those who long to walk with Him.
I want to be one of those. I want to be an Enoch.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Genesis 4: Seriously Undeserved Blessings
Let me pause here and say I sure am glad I’m writing a blog, not a Bible commentary.
If I were attempting to write a comprehensive Bible commentary, well, first of all, I'd be crazy, because there's no way I'm qualified to do that.
Second of all, I'd probably never finish it because Bible commentaries are really, really big and long and I'm not getting any younger.
And third of all, if I were writing a big, long Bible commentary, I’d have to try to explain a whole lot of confusing things I don't understand myself, including some questions that pop up right here in Genesis 4.
This is where, for example, we read about the birth of Adam and Eve's kids, Cain and Abel. They're born, they grow up, and then Cain kills his brother, moves away and gets married. Wait ... just a ... doggone ... minute. Cain gets MARRIED?
Who on earth did Cain marry?
And my answer to that age-old question is, "I. Don’t. Know."
I don’t know how there could have been any other people around who had a daughter for Cain to marry.
Furthermore, I'm okay with remaining stumped and mystified about that, and about a lot of other things I may encounter on this journey through God's Word. I figure if I really needed to know, God would have said. He didn't ... so I don't.
So, let's get on with the business of seeing God's heart in Genesis 4 ...
Well, I think it's clear that God still cared passionately for His fallen creatures or there wouldn’t be a Genesis 4. As I said in my last post, God certainly could have wadded up this world like an art project gone awry when Adam and Eve rebelled in Genesis 3, but He didn’t.
That shows me God's committed, loving, merciful, longsuffering heart.
But then we come to that story in the 4th chapter about God preferring Abel's offering of animals over Cain's offering of plants (vegetables? fruits?), and it almost seems like God is playing favorites.
After all, Cain was a farmer, so why wasn’t it okay for him to offer up plants to God?
We know the God of the Bible is not moody, impulsive, malevolent or unfair. In fact, He is perfectly just and righteous in His judgments, so I'm going to trust that God would not have found anything wrong with Cain's offering unless Cain had clearly known he was doing something very wrong when he offered it.
Something about Cain's offering must have revealed a disobedient or begrudging heart.
While it seems like there are more questions than answers in Genesis 4, I do see some clearly wonderful glimpses of God's heart in this chapter ...
I'm amazed that just as He did when Cain's parents went astray in Genesis 3, God came in person to deal with Cain, too, about his sin. He could have sent an angel ... or a lightning bolt ... but He didn't -- He came personally and tried to turn this whole bad-offering incident into a teachable moment.
Even when Cain reacted to God's reprimand by getting mad and pouting, God calmly tried to show him how not to repeat his mistake.
That sounds like a good Father to me.
When Cain went off and killed his brother, I see how much the loss of Abel's life mattered to God. The God who created the whole amazing universe cared immensely about this one human life that had been taken. Sometimes we forget that God's heart is big enough to infinitely love every single person on this earth.
God also still cared about the one who took Abel's life. After passing sentence on Cain, God “appointed a sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him.”
I have no idea what kind of sign that might have been, but the point is that in spite of everything, God was still looking out for Cain.
God cared about him so much, in fact, that He allowed Cain to live, find a wife (wherever she came from), and have a son.
If grace is getting something good that we don’t deserve, and mercy is not getting something bad or painful that we do deserve, I think Cain got a boatload of each.
Adam and Eve's family tree continued to sprout. Cain had a child who had children ... who had children ... who had children. The first couple even had another son "in place of" the murdered Abel (Gen. 4:25)... although every parent knows no child can ever really take the place of another.
The point is, those first people rebelled, argued, shirked, murdered, and protested ... and God protected and blessed them anyway.
Not because they deserved it, but because they were His.
And finally, after having all that mercy and grace heaped upon their undeserving heads, God's people finally responded. In the last verse of Genesis 4, we find this hopeful turning of hearts: "...Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord."
It's a shame the omniscient God knew what was coming up ahead.
If I were attempting to write a comprehensive Bible commentary, well, first of all, I'd be crazy, because there's no way I'm qualified to do that.
Second of all, I'd probably never finish it because Bible commentaries are really, really big and long and I'm not getting any younger.
And third of all, if I were writing a big, long Bible commentary, I’d have to try to explain a whole lot of confusing things I don't understand myself, including some questions that pop up right here in Genesis 4.
This is where, for example, we read about the birth of Adam and Eve's kids, Cain and Abel. They're born, they grow up, and then Cain kills his brother, moves away and gets married. Wait ... just a ... doggone ... minute. Cain gets MARRIED?
Who on earth did Cain marry?
And my answer to that age-old question is, "I. Don’t. Know."
I don’t know how there could have been any other people around who had a daughter for Cain to marry.
Furthermore, I'm okay with remaining stumped and mystified about that, and about a lot of other things I may encounter on this journey through God's Word. I figure if I really needed to know, God would have said. He didn't ... so I don't.
So, let's get on with the business of seeing God's heart in Genesis 4 ...
Well, I think it's clear that God still cared passionately for His fallen creatures or there wouldn’t be a Genesis 4. As I said in my last post, God certainly could have wadded up this world like an art project gone awry when Adam and Eve rebelled in Genesis 3, but He didn’t.
That shows me God's committed, loving, merciful, longsuffering heart.
But then we come to that story in the 4th chapter about God preferring Abel's offering of animals over Cain's offering of plants (vegetables? fruits?), and it almost seems like God is playing favorites.
After all, Cain was a farmer, so why wasn’t it okay for him to offer up plants to God?
We know the God of the Bible is not moody, impulsive, malevolent or unfair. In fact, He is perfectly just and righteous in His judgments, so I'm going to trust that God would not have found anything wrong with Cain's offering unless Cain had clearly known he was doing something very wrong when he offered it.
Something about Cain's offering must have revealed a disobedient or begrudging heart.
While it seems like there are more questions than answers in Genesis 4, I do see some clearly wonderful glimpses of God's heart in this chapter ...
I'm amazed that just as He did when Cain's parents went astray in Genesis 3, God came in person to deal with Cain, too, about his sin. He could have sent an angel ... or a lightning bolt ... but He didn't -- He came personally and tried to turn this whole bad-offering incident into a teachable moment.
Even when Cain reacted to God's reprimand by getting mad and pouting, God calmly tried to show him how not to repeat his mistake.
That sounds like a good Father to me.
When Cain went off and killed his brother, I see how much the loss of Abel's life mattered to God. The God who created the whole amazing universe cared immensely about this one human life that had been taken. Sometimes we forget that God's heart is big enough to infinitely love every single person on this earth.
God also still cared about the one who took Abel's life. After passing sentence on Cain, God “appointed a sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him.”
I have no idea what kind of sign that might have been, but the point is that in spite of everything, God was still looking out for Cain.
God cared about him so much, in fact, that He allowed Cain to live, find a wife (wherever she came from), and have a son.
If grace is getting something good that we don’t deserve, and mercy is not getting something bad or painful that we do deserve, I think Cain got a boatload of each.
Adam and Eve's family tree continued to sprout. Cain had a child who had children ... who had children ... who had children. The first couple even had another son "in place of" the murdered Abel (Gen. 4:25)... although every parent knows no child can ever really take the place of another.
The point is, those first people rebelled, argued, shirked, murdered, and protested ... and God protected and blessed them anyway.
Not because they deserved it, but because they were His.
And finally, after having all that mercy and grace heaped upon their undeserving heads, God's people finally responded. In the last verse of Genesis 4, we find this hopeful turning of hearts: "...Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord."
It's a shame the omniscient God knew what was coming up ahead.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Genesis 3: He Loves Anyway
It’s easy to project imperfect, unsanctified human frustration and anger onto our perfect God in this pivotal chapter about mankind's fall in the Garden of Eden.
Maybe we picture a stern father stomping up the stairs to angrily tell his kids for the umpteenth time to be quiet and go to sleep. Or standing with hands on his hips, impatiently tapping his foot and snarling, “Come here right NOW! You’ve really done it this time. You are in BIG trouble!”
But that's not God.
There's a whole lot of pure love in this tragic chapter.
Adam and Eve had permission to eat from every tree of the garden except one--the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Every other one.
God is generous.
God wanted to protect the couple from the burden that comes from knowing about good and evil. I watch the news on TV and I sure wish I didn't bear that burden.
Here's the thing that Adam and Eve forgot: When God says “don’t,” He’s always saying, “Don’t hurt yourself, don’t bring death into your heart or your relationships or your life.”
God is protective.
The omniscient God obviously knew Adam and Eve had disobeyed Him and eaten the forbidden fruit, but He came to them in Person anyway. He could have sent a big, scary angel, but He didn't. He came, Himself.
God is personal and relational.
Immediately after the fall, God's first judgment was levied upon the one who had marred His creation and tempted His beloved Adam and Eve into rebellion—Satan.
God loves us passionately and hates the sin that tries to destroy us.
God could have crumpled up His creation like a bad drawing and tossed it in the trash, but He didn’t. He already had a plan in place to redeem it. So, in Genesis 3 we see God adapting to the new, heartbreaking “normal” and making garments of skin to clothe the naked Adam and Eve.
God provides.
God’s next order of business was to make sure that Adam and Eve didn't also eat from the tree of life in their fallen state and get miserably “stuck" for all eternity, so He removed the couple from the Garden and stationed angelic guards to keep that from happening.
God protects.
I’m sure it was excruciating for God to watch this all unfold (even though He knew it was going to happen), but our rebellion didn’t extinguish His love. He found even more ways to express it.
The curses are here and are real … but so is the love of God.
His love doesn't begin or end because He doesn't begin or end. He is love.
Maybe we picture a stern father stomping up the stairs to angrily tell his kids for the umpteenth time to be quiet and go to sleep. Or standing with hands on his hips, impatiently tapping his foot and snarling, “Come here right NOW! You’ve really done it this time. You are in BIG trouble!”
But that's not God.
There's a whole lot of pure love in this tragic chapter.
Adam and Eve had permission to eat from every tree of the garden except one--the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Every other one.
God is generous.
God wanted to protect the couple from the burden that comes from knowing about good and evil. I watch the news on TV and I sure wish I didn't bear that burden.
Here's the thing that Adam and Eve forgot: When God says “don’t,” He’s always saying, “Don’t hurt yourself, don’t bring death into your heart or your relationships or your life.”
God is protective.
The omniscient God obviously knew Adam and Eve had disobeyed Him and eaten the forbidden fruit, but He came to them in Person anyway. He could have sent a big, scary angel, but He didn't. He came, Himself.
God is personal and relational.
Immediately after the fall, God's first judgment was levied upon the one who had marred His creation and tempted His beloved Adam and Eve into rebellion—Satan.
God loves us passionately and hates the sin that tries to destroy us.
God could have crumpled up His creation like a bad drawing and tossed it in the trash, but He didn’t. He already had a plan in place to redeem it. So, in Genesis 3 we see God adapting to the new, heartbreaking “normal” and making garments of skin to clothe the naked Adam and Eve.
God provides.
God’s next order of business was to make sure that Adam and Eve didn't also eat from the tree of life in their fallen state and get miserably “stuck" for all eternity, so He removed the couple from the Garden and stationed angelic guards to keep that from happening.
God protects.
I’m sure it was excruciating for God to watch this all unfold (even though He knew it was going to happen), but our rebellion didn’t extinguish His love. He found even more ways to express it.
The curses are here and are real … but so is the love of God.
His love doesn't begin or end because He doesn't begin or end. He is love.
Genesis 2: This is My Father's World
God worked. God rested. God formed. God planted. God placed.
God caused. God commanded. God fashioned.
God did all of that. Not us, not man. God.
We want Genesis 2 to be about us because it is, after all, where man makes his grand entrance onto earth’s stage.
But it was God’s handiwork. He was the cause, the Creator, the center. It was about Him.
(It still is.)
Creation started out really good. Where did all that goodness come from? From the One who took His brush to a blank earth canvas and expressed His beautiful heart.
Remember the old Sunday School song: “This is My Father’s World”?
Yeah, well, it always has been. And it always will be.
Some people think men create gods--that we imagine and fashion our gods to be whatever we want or need him ... or her ... or it ... or them ... to be.
And while that's true for all the “little g” gods out there, there is an eternal, untamable, unchangeable “Big G" God Who is infinitely more than a chunk of wood or marble crafted by our imaginations.
Some people also say man is the king of this earth—that it all belongs to us and, for better or worse, its fate depends upon us.
But that’s not what I see in Genesis 2.
Are we important? Yes, as the crowning masterpiece of God’s creation. In relation to Him. As a reflection of Him. Because of Him. For Him. To Him. Through Him.
There is a Creator and Sustainer of this universe, this world, our lives … and it’s not us. God’s goodness and mercy require Him to be at the center of the universe. He’s the only One good enough ... strong enough ... true enough ... God enough ... to bear that.
God did all of that. Not us, not man. God.
We want Genesis 2 to be about us because it is, after all, where man makes his grand entrance onto earth’s stage.
But it was God’s handiwork. He was the cause, the Creator, the center. It was about Him.
(It still is.)
Creation started out really good. Where did all that goodness come from? From the One who took His brush to a blank earth canvas and expressed His beautiful heart.
Remember the old Sunday School song: “This is My Father’s World”?
Yeah, well, it always has been. And it always will be.
Some people think men create gods--that we imagine and fashion our gods to be whatever we want or need him ... or her ... or it ... or them ... to be.
And while that's true for all the “little g” gods out there, there is an eternal, untamable, unchangeable “Big G" God Who is infinitely more than a chunk of wood or marble crafted by our imaginations.
Some people also say man is the king of this earth—that it all belongs to us and, for better or worse, its fate depends upon us.
But that’s not what I see in Genesis 2.
Are we important? Yes, as the crowning masterpiece of God’s creation. In relation to Him. As a reflection of Him. Because of Him. For Him. To Him. Through Him.
There is a Creator and Sustainer of this universe, this world, our lives … and it’s not us. God’s goodness and mercy require Him to be at the center of the universe. He’s the only One good enough ... strong enough ... true enough ... God enough ... to bear that.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Genesis 1: It's All Good
“God saw all that He had made, and
behold, it was very good….” (Genesis 1:31)
Good ... good ... good ... good ... good ... good ... very good.
Right off the bat, there it is—the goodness of God’s heart filling up this first chapter of God’s Word, and filling up His creation.
I can’t presume to know God’s emotions if He doesn’t tell us how He’s feeling, but when I read this chapter, it sure seems like I can sense His delight and excitement.
“I’m going to create light.” Zap! “That is good!”
“I’m going to create land and seas.” Zap! “That is good!”
“And now I’m going to fill that land with beautiful plants and trees." Zap! “Yes, that is good!"
The sun, the moon, the stars, sea creatures and birds, and animals -- He said it was all good.
And then (drumroll) … His crowning work: man. Made in His own image, with His stamp, some of His own DNA.
After that, God looked over everything He'd made and declared that it was VERY good.
It’s hard to look at the world we’re in and the people we’re around and remember how perfectly good it was all supposed to be ... and was at the beginning. And because creation now so often appears less than good, we suspect the Creator might be too.
But that is a lie.
Genesis 1 is the perfect expression of the Creator’s good heart, good will, good intentions. If we're going to judge the Creator by His creation, we need to go there.
Perfect man in a perfect place. And the good Creator was pleased.
Good ... good ... good ... good ... good ... good ... very good.
Right off the bat, there it is—the goodness of God’s heart filling up this first chapter of God’s Word, and filling up His creation.
I can’t presume to know God’s emotions if He doesn’t tell us how He’s feeling, but when I read this chapter, it sure seems like I can sense His delight and excitement.
“I’m going to create light.” Zap! “That is good!”
“I’m going to create land and seas.” Zap! “That is good!”
“And now I’m going to fill that land with beautiful plants and trees." Zap! “Yes, that is good!"
The sun, the moon, the stars, sea creatures and birds, and animals -- He said it was all good.
And then (drumroll) … His crowning work: man. Made in His own image, with His stamp, some of His own DNA.
After that, God looked over everything He'd made and declared that it was VERY good.
It’s hard to look at the world we’re in and the people we’re around and remember how perfectly good it was all supposed to be ... and was at the beginning. And because creation now so often appears less than good, we suspect the Creator might be too.
But that is a lie.
Genesis 1 is the perfect expression of the Creator’s good heart, good will, good intentions. If we're going to judge the Creator by His creation, we need to go there.
Perfect man in a perfect place. And the good Creator was pleased.
Let's Go
A friend of mine told me how her young son was frustrated
one day because he couldn’t find his Bible. Recognizing it was a teachable moment, my friend asked her son, “Why do you think God gave us the
Bible?”
“So we’ll always remember what He’s like,” her son replied.
A lot of wisdom there.
I decided a few years ago to start reading the Bible to find God’s heart in it. Not just to learn His principles and to be inspired by all the epic stories and amazing promises, but to see and know His heart.
I found myself sometimes saying to others, “I think God wants to show us His heart in every book of the Bible.”
It occurred to me recently that maybe I should put my money where my mouth is—to go through the Bible chapter by chapter (yes, even Leviticus) and to write about what I find in each chapter that tells me more about what God is like.
It’s going to be quite a journey. I don’t know if I’ll get through it all before Jesus comes back or I go home to heaven, but I’d love for you to go with me for as long as we can.
Chapter by chapter, piece by piece, clue by clue, putting together a more complete picture of the heart of our God.
We certainly can’t thoroughly know God. He’s way too big and we’re way too small. But this I do know: The better I see Him, the more I want to see Him.
So, I’m going looking for Him.
Wanna come with me?
“So we’ll always remember what He’s like,” her son replied.
A lot of wisdom there.
I decided a few years ago to start reading the Bible to find God’s heart in it. Not just to learn His principles and to be inspired by all the epic stories and amazing promises, but to see and know His heart.
I found myself sometimes saying to others, “I think God wants to show us His heart in every book of the Bible.”
It occurred to me recently that maybe I should put my money where my mouth is—to go through the Bible chapter by chapter (yes, even Leviticus) and to write about what I find in each chapter that tells me more about what God is like.
It’s going to be quite a journey. I don’t know if I’ll get through it all before Jesus comes back or I go home to heaven, but I’d love for you to go with me for as long as we can.
Chapter by chapter, piece by piece, clue by clue, putting together a more complete picture of the heart of our God.
We certainly can’t thoroughly know God. He’s way too big and we’re way too small. But this I do know: The better I see Him, the more I want to see Him.
So, I’m going looking for Him.
Wanna come with me?
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