“In the beginning, God created.” The Book of Genesis is a book of firsts. The word "genesis" means beginning, and this book of beginnings opens with the first cause, God, and the first action, creating.
God created the physical universe, from the core of the earth to the vastness of space. God spoke light into being, dividing darkness from light. God created the sky, separating the water below from the water above. God sculpted the land to delineate the bounds of the deep.
God created life.
God created seed-bearing plants with the ability to reproduce within them. God created animals, of mind-boggling variety--large, small, flitting, lumbering, beautiful, frightful, each intricately made with the seeds of life within itself. And God created people in his image, with the ability to create but also with the ability to destroy.
God created relationships. The book of Genesis tells of responsibility, of caring and nurturing, of work. It also speaks of community.
Community begins in the book of Genesis, and community is torn apart there as well--because of sin and selfishness. God wants us to live at peace in our relationships, our families, and our broader communities. Breakdowns in community are the result of sin. We want to do better, to make life better for everyone, but we aren't always able to.
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