As we begin our year of bible reading it’s always good to remind ourselves of the profound truths of Genesis Chapter 1 verse 1. The simple declaration that God created “The Heavens and the Earth” and all they contain rules out many views of reality that are offered in our world today.
D.A. Carson puts it this way: “On the face of it, this chapter, and the lines of thought it develops, establish that God is different from the universe that he creates, and therefore pantheism is ruled out; that the original creation was entirely good, and therefore dualism is ruled out; that human beings, male and female together, are alone declared to be made in the image of God, and therefore forms of reductionism that claim we are part of the animal kingdom and no more must be ruled out; that God is a talking God, and therefore all notions of an impersonal God must be ruled out; that this God has sovereignly made all things, including all people, and therefore conceptions of merely tribal deities must be ruled out.”
This simple beginning teaches us that there is a personal God above us and all around us. Since He has created all things there is meaning and purpose to life. That He exists and is personal explains why there are absolute standards that do not change. As Francis Schaeffer puts it, “He is the God who is there.” Not only is He “there,” but He has spoken. God tells us what is right and wrong. Let’s begin our new year, which He has given us, by listening to Him.