Genesis 1:1-31
In the Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
For me there is no accident or randomness in nature and the universe...There is this beauty about God, and He LOVES beauty...
We study and marvel at the earth and the universe...From a formless, empty, dark earth, God’s Spirit was hovering over the waters...And from this bleak, barren, desolate planet something happened...We see trees with leaves of green and purple have survived...We see fields full of corn and those amber waves of grains continuing to grow...We see yards continuing to be carpeted by the greenest of grasses...And most of the earth is filled with beautiful bodies of water...And these waters as you sit down beside them and watch and listen, they seem Spiritual...But this may not surprise those that believe that the Spirit of God was hovering over these same waters many years ago...And on this planet wildlife and sea life now and for many years have existed...All these things are breathtakingly beautiful in color and in their varieties of nature, as the Light so humbly made its way through the emptiness and the darkness...So by just looking around the earth and universe can we see Someone is in control...We can see with our eyes and hear with our ears that the earth and the universe somehow has a story behind it...One might call the story Creation…
One can come to realize that just by visiting their own back yard that in this beauty there is an order, this adaptiveness, this Spirit, and a meaning in the story of nature...There is somehow a harmony in all of nature and in its ability to adapt to the changing seasons and to changing environments...Nature somehow knows what to do and how to do it...Somehow God made nature to fend for itself as an entire system -and not just one particular part of nature...Nature takes care of all of nature and all of its whole natural ecosystem...Nature does not just look out for the grass, or just the trees, or just wildlife, or just its orchids...Nature takes care of everything in nature...
And so God created nature first, and nature was self sustaining -and then God created man...And God created mankind in His own image, in the Image of God He created Adam and Eve; male and female He created them...God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it....God put us over this beautiful and nature that He created...He told us to rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground...Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it...They will be yours for food...And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.”...And it was so...God saw all that He had made, and it was very good...
So we as mankind were put over nature by God and are to live in harmony with everything in nature...God made us the stewards of nature...As noted nature looks out for nature...Nature seems to be in harmony with all its members and all those things in nature are safe within nature's own bounds...And God saw nature as good, very good...Maybe we as mankind can learn from nature about the wholeness and the harmonies of everything we see in nature, and how nature works together within itself to keep itself in harmony and sustaining...