Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

This is one of the most important verses in the whole Bible, but it’s been a long time since I’ve read Genesis 1. It wasn’t until the 19^th Century that there was any concerted attempt at intellectual atheism. People saw the physical universe and knew that it had to come from somewhere, and a Creator was certainly the simplest answer. Then came the scientific discoveries of the Enlightenment Period, and though he wasn’t the first, Charles Darwin is held up as a god-like figure by current atheists, saying that “natural processes” could account for everything, and the Theory of Evolution was born. This actually was an illustration of the axiom, “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” Darwin himself said that if biological cells turned out to be complex, his whole theory fell apart. Well, current tools show us that cells are amazingly complex! Even if you allow for the purported trillions of years since the “Big Bang,” mathematical probability cannot account for the universe as we see it today. “Intelligent Design” becomes the only logical solution, even without subscribing to any specific religious tradition. The big problem with this, from the human standpoint, is that positing a Creator automatically leads to the question of accountability. If God created us, aren’t we accountable to Him to fulfill whatever purpose He had in doing so? But we hate accountability! And that’s behind the whole story of the Bible. God chose to give us free will, and we chose to use that to defy Him! The absurdity of that defiance is beyond words to express, but it is what we call “original sin.” God gave clear, simple instructions to Adam and Eve, with only one proscription, and they chose to violate that. We’ve been bearing the consequences ever since, but it’s no use blaming them, because we would do no better in their place. The great mercy is that, as God told Jeremiah, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13) He is physically invisible to us, but He allows us to find Him when our hearts are turned to Him in humility. And that’s the issue: letting go of pride. It was pride that drove the early atheists to seek an explanation for the universe that didn’t require a Creator, and it is pride that draws us to try to rule our own lives today. We do in a sense rule our lives, but only in how we apply and make use of what God provides to us. The only route to genuine happiness and satisfaction is knowing we are created beings, and seeking to know and follow our Creator.

Of course, this applies to me as much as it does to anyone. I’ve certainly had my struggles with pride, to the point that God had to show me my own soul, just for a moment, to knock me off my high horse. God has had to teach me again and again that He’s smart and I’m not, that His plans, and His plans alone, are perfect. Just yesterday He brought about a resolution to a situation that distressed me but I couldn’t touch. Such things happen all the time, and I need to recognize them and be grateful. My task and commission in life is to help others recognize and know their Creator, believing that He knows and loves them as His children, to the point that He gave His Son to take the penalty for their rebellion against Him. That’s not something I can do in my own strength, because it seems impossibly good, so people don’t believe it. However, God’s Spirit indwells me, and nothing is impossible for Him. My focus is to be on humility and obedience, because that will clear the way for Him to do all that He wants to do in and through me, and that is very good indeed.

Father, thank You for this powerful reminder. May I indeed walk in the obedience of love, pleasing You and drawing many more to You by my words and my example, for Your glory alone. Thank You. Hallelujah!