The story of Jesus’s birth shook the world. It calls people to surrender their lives to a baby boy who will eventually grow up to be a man who will die for the sins of the humanity.
The Bible’s foundational story set ends with Babel and a new beginning. There are many facets of the Babel story but we’ll focus here on language as it’s the first thing mentioned in the Genesis 11 account. They had a “common language and a common vocabulary” (NET Bible). Even though we are tasked with using language to preach the word of God, we might not consider language enough. Babel teaches us that when humans get together in like-minded groups to accomplish lofty goals, their language is a concern.
We may not immediately associate the rest of God (Sabbath) with the account of Noah and his ark but there are clear connections to be found in these foundational stories. Noah means rest in Hebrew
Early on, the Bible frames what we would later call sin, as going beyond the limitations God set for humans. The theological word for such sin is transgression. God, in his love, has given us boundaries to keep us safe, to keep us from hurting ourselves by doing more than we can handle physically, mentally, and spiritually.
It’s easy for us to take creation for granted. In other words, we get used to existing. It’s good to step back and look at the miracle of our existence and to try and recognize God’s purpose and intent for humanity. As Christ-followers, we are image-bearers for the divine and yet, at the same time, we are often plunged into the messiness of muddy situations in the church and in our own lives.
It makes sense that we would generally see light as good and darkness as bad. The scriptures often associate light with righteousness and darkness with hidden sin. Light is associated with joy. Darkness often symbolizes sorrow or confusion. But if we look deeper, beginning even with the very first chapter of the Bible, we see a more nuanced depiction of light and darkness.
It’s easy to overlook some of the finer details of this creation poem, especially if we come into it depending too much on centuries of ingrained rationalism. God’s creative work is not limited to the creation of physical things like the sea, land and sky, and the creatures that would inhabit each. He also created seasons and rhythms that still govern our world. Our society, however, seems bent on creating its own rhythms and displacing the seasons God established in his wisdom and grace.
The first chapters of the Bible tell the story of creation. Over the centuries people have looked to these passages for answers to questions like what, when, where and how. However, this text is primarily concerned with answering one question that happens to be the biggest question of all: why?
As you look back on your life as a Christian or as a leader, what are some things that you’ve needed to reframe? In what ways were your beliefs or actions askew from God’s story? How did you come to realize that your beliefs needed to be reframed? How did the Spirit help you see…
Spirituality is how we live out the story. In our faith tradition, we have a tendency to live out our faith with great human effort. Human effort is good.
We are called to hold to (abide) the teaching of Jesus. But Jesus makes it clear that we don’t need to abide alone (we can’t). Rather, he’s given us
the Holy Spirit as a helper so we can live for God and in God.