Maker of heaven and earth
“In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,” (Genesis 1:1 NABRE) We’re all familiar with these words. God made the earth. He made the heavens. He made everything. And most of it he made just by speaking. In Genesis, every day begins, “Then God said…”
Recently my son was watching a documentary on the origins of the universe. It was fascinating to see. For the first time there was actually a computer generation of what the universe might have looked like the moment God said, “Let there be light.” And there was an explosion of light. The big bang, if you will. God spoke. The universe responded. And through science, we can now have a somewhat picture of what that looked like. Or might have looked like.
There is only one thing in all of creation that God didn’t speak into existence, at least according to the second account of creation in Genesis 2. Us. In Genesis 1, we read that we were made in the image and likeness of God. All of us were. But in Genesis 2, we read that to form mankind, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit stepped out of their dwelling place and stepped onto earth. Then they knelt down, gathered up the dust of the ground and lovingly formed him. Then the Lord God himself, “blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” That’s about as intimate as you can get. And because Adam needed a helper suitable to him, the Lord caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep, and taking one of his ribs, formed Eve. With just as much love and care as he used for Adam. And like Adam, because she was from Adam, she also was a living soul.
Why did God do all of this? He created the heavens so we would have light, day and night, if heavens refers to the universe. He created heaven so we would have a good place to spend eternity, and earth so we would have a place to live until then. A good and pleasing place. And he created man so we would love him. He breathed into us the breath of live and created our soul so that it would always yearn for him, would always reach him, and reaching out would find him who loved it first and loves it best.
YOU ARE READING
What Are You Looking For? Part 1: The Nicene Creed
RandomThis started as a blog about what Catholics believe and why. I am following the outline of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Part 1 begins with the Nicene Creed, which forms the base for almost every Christian tradition. Each part focuses on...
