Commentary and Reflection:
God’s Word begins by saying, “In the beginning, God…” If the Bible contained only these words, it would be enough for us to know who The Lord is and who we are. It would be enough to give reason and a foundation for our faith. The adversary, with all his cunning and fury, has risen to question these simple words. He has raised postulates and theories against them, all in an effort to deny the obvious, to explain creation without accountability to a Creator. Yet, the Word of God remains and still says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
On each of the seven days of creation, the Creator made something out of nothing. He made His light shine, ordered space, created land and sea, made provision for all his creatures, created time and climate, put a song in the air and the movement of life in the ocean, populated Earth, created us in his image and likeness, and provided time for rest and renewal. The Creator made everything needed for the happiness and enjoyment of His creatures.
“Man was to bear God’s image, both in outward resemblance and in character” (PP 45).
We were not created in the image of irrationality but in the physical and spiritual image of God Himself.
“This nature reflected the divine holiness of its Maker until sin shattered the divine likeness. It is only through Christ, the brightness of the glory of God and the “express image of his person” (Heb. 1 :3), that our nature is transformed into the image of God again (Col. 3:10; Eph. 4:24).” SDABC
“To the question: When did God create ‘the heavens and the earth’? we can only answer, ‘In the beginning.’ And to the question: When did God complete His work? we can only answer, ‘On the seventh day God ended his work’. “For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day” (Ex. 20:1 1).” SDABC
The Creator planted two trees in the middle of the garden; one was the tree of life and the other the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. His ethics required His children to be free, which is why we are created with the ability to choose between good and evil.
“The tree of knowledge, which stood near the tree of life in the midst of the garden, was to be a test of the obedience, faith, and love of our parents.” PP 49
Let us be grateful to God for the simple and beautiful story of creation, and for the display of his creative and sustaining power in nature. May He allow us today to choose life, to eat from the tree of life.
