Turning on the Lights

Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and season and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so.  Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night.  He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and  to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.  So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.  Genesis 1:14-19

It is mind blowing to think that God created light before creating the light makers.  I remember being haunted as a child by the atheist eschatology. Sitting in class and being told that our star would one day burn down and die, long before that taking all life off of the planet earth without so much as a sound.  I found the very thought appalling that some future generation of people would be slowly burned, or frozen to death while all human existence fizzled off no more meaningless than a candle that had run our of wick.  Upon noticing that I was trouble the teacher asked me what was wrong.  I replied that I was sad that everyone would die.  She tried to assure me with the words, "You'll already be long dead by then.  So don't worry about it!"  So that is what it is to live in spiritual darkness.  The world understands their dependence upon the "light givers" but would rather resign themselves to absolute meaninglessness and loss than risk seeing the light Creator! It is amazing for us to look up at the stars.  The beautiful pictures of the stars that are so far beyond our ability to see with the natural eye is beyond breathtaking.  The Hubble Telescope shows some of the amazing and beautiful formations that have been tucked away since God created the world.  When He formed those beautiful structures and formations was He thinking of us?  Did He think how amazed and mystified we would be as we saw the distant star formations that are invisible to the naked eye?  Or were we not even apart of the thought, did He just make them because they reflect something of the beauty, creativity and order that flow forth from His being?  I don't know, but what I do know is this: all of that beauty and wonder merited a single statement in Scripture: "He made the stars also."  God then proceeded to reveal pages and pages about Himself and His love for mankind.  It is amazing to think that the angels of heaven could see those "star structures" up close, but they marvel at what God is doing in every person who has trusted Jesus Christ.

The Land

"Then God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gather together into one place, and let the dry land appear"; and it was so.  And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas.  And God saw that it was good."  Genesis 1:9-10

Anyone who has spent time in the ocean knows that water is powerful.  As children we make small waterways and watch as the water carries more and more sand away.  When we stand in the ocean a wave that is not even waste high can knock us off of our feet completely!  In more tragic cases a tsunami can bury and destroy entire cities in a matter of almost no time at all.  Yet, God simply spoke the word and all of the waters the world yeilded to His command and receded to reveal dry land.  For us to move such a great amount of water would be absurdly impossible, but for God this was just a simple act of clearing a canvas.  For what does the master Artist clear such a canvas?  Did He consider as He brought forth the dry ground that He would form some of that freshly cleared soil into the form of mankind?  It is amazing think that that earth that the Lord brought forth would one day walk walk upon it, sit upon it, rest upon it.  One day he would look down upon that soil from a cross where He would hang to redeem that which He created.  That same earth now groans in anticipation of the return of its Lord and Creator, who alone can remove the curse of sin from its form and function