Finding Christ
in the Creation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA2QBvB-dTk The Creation by Annie Henri Nader
CHRIST IN THE
CREATION – Genesis 1
In the majestic words of Genesis, we
read that “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. Here, in
the first chapter of the Bible, we learn of how God wanted to teach us of the
beginning, or genesis, of all things. We often read this incredible account of
the creation almost as a scientific textbook, so to speak, yet the story of
creation has far more depth and can symbolize many aspects of life. In
particular, we can find within the
creation of our own story of how the Savior takes us from unorganized matter
and converts us into beings of light in the image of God.
Before beginning the story, it is
critical to realize that when the Lord revealed the story of the creation, it was
meant to be highly symbolic. We should not expect that God meant to simplify
one of the most incredible and complex acts into just a single chapter. Genesis
1 is designed to give us just the outline of what God did. This outline only
gives us a glimpse into the true majesty of the actual process of creation. It
is also important to realize that ancient and modern Jews see many connections
to the Tabernacle and ancient temples. Simply put, the creation has always been
seen as a temple text, and the temple itself was seen as a place of creation.
DAY ONE
Genesis
1:1-2
On the first day, we learn that “God
created the heavens and the earth” and that the “earth was without form, and
void”, or in other words, was empty and without order. Darkness filled the
expanse, yet even in the darkness, we learn that the Spirit of the Lord “moved
upon the waters”, or in the original Hebrew, the Spirit hovered or brooded over
the earth. Here we learn that even amidst the darkness and chaos, the Spirit of
God was present. In our own stories of creation, we each begin our journey in a
symbolic state of darkness or chaos, yet the presence of the Lord is there from
the beginning, watching over His creation. If we allow the Spirit of the Lord
to move upon us, we will receive light!
Genesis
1:3
With darkness covering the earth,
the Lord speaks: “Let there be light!” With simply the word of the Savior,
light penetrates the darkness and fills the expanse of His creation. Note that
this light is not from the sun, moon, or stars! In fact, the lights in the
firmament are not created until day four. This source of light stands apart
from the later-created lights. During His mortal ministry, the Savior taught:
“I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).
In our own journey, once we have been moved upon by the Spirit of the
Lord, we receive light from the word of God. As we study the Word, we are
filled with light just as on the first day of creation.
Genesis
1:4
At the end of the first day, the Lord sees the light and proclaims “that
it was good”. Even with so little completed in the creation, the Savior sees
the good. For each additional day of creation, the Savior makes a similar
statement, showing that He sees the progress even in the midst of His
incomplete creation.
DAY TWO
On the second day, the Lord divided
the waters above the firmament of heaven from the waters on the land, creating
the clouds above and the oceans below. The Hebrew word used here for “divide”
or “separate” is used many times later in the Bible, particularly in a temple
context when speaking of separating the unholy from the holy—for example: the
veil of the Tabernacle that separated the holy place from the Holy of Holies,
the separation of the priests from the people, and even separating Israel from
the rest of the world. This second day of creation can suggest that when we
receive the light of Christ, we are then expected to be set apart and separated
from the world. We are to live a higher—and holier—life as we follow the
Savior.
DAY
THREE
On the third day of creation, the
Lord gathered the waters of the earth together to form seas and oceans, and dry
land, hills, and mountains. With the land separated from the water, the Lord
then brings forth grasses, fruit trees, and all forms of vegetation to give
beauty to the land. Keep in mind that the sun has still not yet been created,
again suggesting that this light is the light of Christ that gives life to all.
The plants are commanded to yield fruit so that their seed can fill the earth.
The creation of life on the third day, in the fields of wheat, trees, flowers,
and vegetation, may connect to the fact that, likewise, it was on the third day
that the Savior rose from the dead, bringing true life to all the earth!
DAY
FOUR
On the fourth day, the Lord created
the lights in the sky, including the sun, moon, and stars. This was not only to
give daily light unto the world but also “for signs, and for seasons, and for
days, and years”. (Genesis 1:14) Unlike our modern calendar, which uses the
rotation of the earth around the sun to set the months, the Jewish calendar was
based on the cycles of the moon. The dates for each of the Jewish Feasts or
seasons were determined by this lunar cycle. For example, the first of the
feasts, Passover, occurs on the first full moon of the year. The last of the
feasts, the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot, occurs on the seventh full moon of
the year. Thus, ancient Israel gathering to the temple to worship during these
feasts was directly connected to the creation of the moon and the sun.
During His mortal ministry, the
Savior taught of Himself, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12), yet Jesus
also taught during the Sermon on the Mount that “[We] are the light of the
world” (Matthew 5:15). How is it that if the Savior is the light, we also can
be the light?
Perhaps these two seemingly contradictory statements can best be
understood if we compare this to the light of the sun and moon. The sun is the
ultimate source of all light. Its rays of light crate growth and life in all
things. The moon, however, does not actually create its own light but instead
reflects the light of the sun to the earth. So, too, it can be in our own
lives. We are never the ultimate source of light. We only reflect the light of
the Savior to others.
It is interesting that during a lunar eclipse, the moon becomes darkened,
no longer reflecting the light of the sun. Why is this? Because the earth has
come between the sun and the moon, blocking the light. Similarly, as we allow
the cares of the world to come between us and the Son of God, the ultimate
source of true light, we, too, lose the ability to reflect His light to others.
Just as these lights, the sun, moon, and stars, were “to separate the
light from the darkness” (Genesis 1:18 NLT), as Christians, we also should live
lives that set us apart from the world, bringing light to those in darkness.
DAY
FIVE
On the fifty day of creation, the Lord created the living creatures of
the seas and the birds of the air. Then on the sixth day, the beasts of the
land were created, including sheep, goats, horses, insects, and all creeping
things. The Lord commands these beasts to “be fruitful, and multiply” (Genesis
1:22).
DAY SIX
Finally, on the last part of the sixth day, the Lord “created mankind in
His own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female” (Genesis
1:27 NIV). Here the culmination of the Lord’s creation, the very last act of
creation, is male and female, in the image of God. “And God said unto them, be fruitful,
and multiply, and replenish the earth” (Genesis 1:28). The act of creating all
living creatures could relate to our own journey of not only having families
and bringing forth children but also in bringing forth “fruits” of repentance,
service, love, devotion, and kindness towards others. These fruits should not
only nourish and bring life to ourselves and our families but to all the world.
Throughout the entire creation story, each day the Lord stated that His
creation “was good,” but with the creation of humans, the Lord now states that
creation was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). In our own lives, as we allow the
Savior to form us into a “new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17), the Savior always
sees the good in us. If we are progressing, even if we are not complete, the
Lord sees the good in our life. Once our creation story is complete, and we are
seen as “very good,” we can then be seen in the image of God.
DAY
SEVEN
After seeing His marvelous creation completed, the Lord rested on the
seventh day.
The story of the creation is a story of putting things in order. We are
each symbolically in a state of darkness and chaos as we first come unto
Christ. As we allow His Spirit to move upon us, we receive light. The Lord then
commands us to be separated from the world and follow Him, just as the waters
were separated. As we continue in Christ, we are to bring forth fruits of
repentance, multiplying and replenishing the earth with life, not just life in
ourselves but in others.
As we culminate our journey back to God, we will find that we can become
like our Savior through His atonement. Once we have completed our own story of
creation, with the Savior there every step of the way, the Lord God will rest
from His labors, knowing that His work and glory is complete—complete because
we are now created after His own image, even in the image of our Savior and
Redeemer!
