I love that because the Holy Spirit is my teacher, I can open the Word of God to a very familiar passage and suddenly see it in a new light. It doesn’t always happen, but when it does, I’m always amazed. And it happened the other day.
What passage is more familiar to us than the creation story found in Genesis 1? But as I returned to the beginning of the story again, I saw it with fresh spiritual eyes.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void, and darkness covered the face of the deep.” (Gen 1:1-2)
It suddenly struck me to wonder why God created the earth at first “without form, and void” and with darkness covering it. I mean God could have created it whole, all at once. But He didn’t. He created it first as something without form. Empty. Dark. He added to it day after day, bringing order and light and life into that which was characterized as without form and void and dark.
Then a thought occurred to me: perhaps Genesis 1 is both an account of the creation of the heavens and the earth and a picture for us of how God works in our lives. After all, much Scripture has both a literal and a spiritual meaning. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that we are new creations. If so, shouldn’t we understand how God approaches creation? According to Genesis, He didn’t accomplish it in a moment, though He could have. Instead, He worked over a period of time, building on what He’d done the day before. Why would His creation of our spiritual man be any different?
From the moment I received His grace, He has brought order and light and life to my new man, adding to what has come before. One day my image will mirror His. I will be like Him, for I will see Him as He is. (Corinthians again, this time 1 Corinthians 13:12.) Then He will rest from His creation of me. And I will glory in His presence forever.
Do you see God working in your life in such a manner?