Light Conquering the Darkness

We are studying Genesis 1:1-19, and I have to say that these first few verses seem to mean more to me almost every time that I read them. They say so much about God and His knowledge of good and evil, versus our own. The separating of light from darkness, day from night, is so rich in the symbolism of what He did for us through His Son Jesus Christ, the One who overcame death and darkness, the one Who is the Light of the world (John 1).

This is what our entire Christian walk is about, as was the walk of Jesus Christ in His time here on earth: light conquering darkness; the power of God bringing chaos into order, even in the lives of such frail and sin-sick beings as we are. How can we not marvel at such richness of symbolism found here in Genesis? How can we not marvel at the One who gave us His Word to cling to and trust in?

Yet, we cannot take this only as symbolism. For these verses also describe for us the power of the God we serve, describing creation power that no one but God could possibly have. No matter how brilliant the scientist might be, he can only strive to "mimic" what God has done. He can never accomplish creation of something from nothing. Man can never only "speak" (using no tools, contraptions, computers, etc.) and see something come into existence. There is only One Who can do that…and that is our God.

His Word is as powerful today as it was in the beginning; it is His voice that speaks "new life" into us even today…because He is our God. There is none like Him.

Some people, even some believers, disagree among themselves about the "absoluteness" of these first few verses of scripture. They argue about whether or not the "day" described is a 24-hour day or whether it is a "day" that spans thousands of years. Part of this is due to an attempt to reconcile what scientists have discovered in terms of fossils using their theory of carbon-dating. The other part of the argument is due to unbelief in the power of God.

The God whom the scriptures talks of, whose character is shown to us across centuries of time by this written Word, is absolutely capable of creating the heaven and the earth in one 24-hour day. In fact, I don't know that it says that it took the whole 24-hours to create….for He just spoke and it happened. How long exactly did it take for light to come into existence? Was it one second or one minute or one hour or the entire day? The God who created life into existence merely by His Word, is capable of using time itself for His own purposes, for He is the Creator of all things, even time itself. The bible shows us that He is able to control time, to stop it, to turn it back. But you see, more important than the amount of time it took for God to create, is the fact that God created by merely speaking a word….and what He spoke came into existence.

Trouble always comes when we try to wrap our limited minds around what God does. Instead of taking Him at His Word, we try to "justify" His Word. How dare we do that to such a God as He? What arrogance is necessary in us to cause us to question or doubt that He did exactly as He says He did?

Some would say I am not being "logical" in my thinking here. But they miss the point that our "logic" cannot be applied to God. He is much higher than OUR "logic":

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:9)

This does not mean that being logical is some sort of evil or sin (although it can lead us to sin); it just means that we cannot apply to God what we ourselves use as understanding or knowledge: the thing we call logic or reason. He is beyond that….just as miracles are beyond our understanding; they are beyond our knowledge; there appears to be nothing logical happening in a true miracle. But scientists cannot be happy until they have formed some logical "theory" about how such miracles came to be. We see this all the time in articles where some scientist explains "how" the Red Sea parted for the Israelites, and other such miracles of God. They cannot rest until they have proven that God was unnecessary to the miracles. But all they have are "theories".

The definition of a theory is: speculation, an unproved assumption, analysis of a set of facts (i.e. the fact is that the Red Sea parted, now let's analyze this and see if we can determine how that happened), a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomenon (the key here is that it must be "generally acceptable to scientists"…there is no absolute truth involved.)

Returning back to our study verses, we should realize that just as it took GOD to bring order out of the cosmic chaos, it will also be God who returns the earth to waste and void when He comes
to judge those whose dependence upon "logic" rather than God has caused them to sin against God:

"For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge." (Jeremiah 4:22)

"I beheld the earth, and lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and lo, the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger." (Jeremiah 4:23-26)

As we begin this study in Genesis, let us agree together that we will honor God by accepting Him at His Word. Let us set all of our "theories" on the back burner, until the day that He explains it all to us. Let us strive together to know God as He desires us to know Him, not according to our own opinions or imaginations, but according to His Word which is Truth.

Lord willing, we will continue our study of these same verses tomorrow as there is just too much to "unpack" in one posting.