DAY THREE - BIG PICTURE IN A YEAR - THE CREATION
“In the beginning, God..”
Genesis 1: 1
Reading: Genesis 1: 1-25; Romans 1: 20; Psalm 19
One of my favourite God-memories is when I went to watch The Blue Planet at an IMAX theatre in Cape Town. The movie started and the camera moved through space towards a small blue ball, Earth. God spoke more clearly than I’ve ever heard Him speak before and told me simply this: “I made it with so much love”. There I was, watching a movie about something He had made for us, with so much love, and I was watching it with Him. It was an unforgettable moment. Needless to say, I cried most of the way through.
David Wilkinson, in an article posted on Christianity Today, says “The Bible's discussions of Creation always have a larger purpose: to inspire worship, to encourage the weak, to call for holiness, and to offer reassurance in times of trouble.” Although he himself is a scientist and well versed in creation theories, I believe he is correct in saying that we should allow the Bible’s discussions of Creation to do for us what they were intended to do for us, rather than try to force them to do something they were never intended to do.
Genesis 1 is a true account of Creation but it is not a scientific account. So, today, allow it to inspire worship. As you read through the first 25 chapters of Genesis, switch off your critical sense and switch on all your worship senses! Allow this incredible account to fill you with wonder once again.
Take a moment to go out into Creation itself and, as Romans 1: 20 tells us, allow its beautiful Creator to speak to you through the work of His loving hands. Creation is another voice, another way, of hearing from God. Let Him speak to you today.
Prayer
Lord of Creation, speak to me through Your Creation now.
For the family
Explain
Tell your children that Creation is one of the ‘voices’ of God (Romans 1: 20). Because He made everything, if we listen, we will ‘hear’ God in Creation and be inspired to learn from Him and worship Him.
Engage
Take the family outside, into Creation, and allow its Creator to speak to you through the work of His loving hands (Romans 1: 20). Help each child to choose just one aspect of Nature (a flower, an ant, the sky, a tree) and then pray together, asking God to speak to you. Then allow time for each member to share what he or she felt God was saying through that aspect of Creation.
You can also watch The Blue Planet 2 trailer here
Younger children
Let them show you what they love best about the natural Creation…and then worship God together for that.
Older children
Allow them to choose their favourite worship song – listen to it together as a family and worship God together.
