The Genesis of it All

This poetic re-telling of God’s creative work in Genesis 1 highlights a God who delights in creating and who delights in us, his creatures. Through vivid language and wonderful artwork, we find ourselves caught up in the drama of his creative process:

God flung both arms wide and embraced deep space, then bent and squeezed it, twisting it and pulling it like dough, then flinging it wide in great spirals of energy. It surged out hugely, flashing, exploding into the dark with a thunderous blast – universes, galaxies, nebulae. …We don’t know how God did it. We weren’t there to see.

That phrase – “We don’t quite know how God did it. We weren’t there to see”—is repeated throughout the book. It likely resonates with those of us who recognize there’s an important place for mystery in our understanding of creation. In Genesis, God revealed himself as the powerful and loving superintendent of the creative process, but Genesis isn’t designed to be a scientific handbook. If that’s true, then we as humans are free (and even encouraged) to explore the natural world, and when we discover something true, we are doing what Kepler called “thinking God’s thoughts after Him.”