Devotionals for June 17, 2024

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Genesis 1:1-2, 26-27

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27 So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

Theologians have argued that, while the original creation was certainly good, it was not perfect. While untainted by the effects of sin, there remained something to “subdue,” chaos to bring peace to. Indeed, the reference here to “the waters” indicates this. The waters, in Jewish thought, represented chaos. God, however, is the one who controls the waters. Adam was to be a governor of creation but became its slave. It is Christ who fulfills what Adam could not by bringing peace to all creation. The explicit reason for humanity’s existence is stated in v. 26, “And let them have dominion.” We are to be agents of God’s shalom in a chaotic world. The good news? We are living in the New Covenant, the New Creation inaugurated by King Jesus and our work will not return void.

Q: What does it mean for the earth to be “without form and void?”

Q: What chaotic place in your life needs the peace of God brought by you?

Q: Think of at least two peace-bringing activities to share with a friend.

"Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy."

Oh, Lord help us to share the peace you have brought us.