|
Genesis
1:3-5 (NIV)
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.
Who was
it that named the days and called the day, day and the night, night? Is our
calendar just the result of random atoms collectively coming together to
somehow evolve in order to say something with meaning?
The
famous cosmologist, Carl Sagan, said, the universe is all that has ever been
or every will be. Matter is all that matters; we are just complex
arrangements of atoms without any real direction. Richard Dawkins, the famous
Cambridge Evolutionist said, "We are all just dancing to our DNA, there
is nothing such as bad or good it is just atoms dancing around. There is no
such thing as love; it is just a chemical reaction between two collections of
atoms that are somehow attracted to each other." (Paraphrase)
How is
that for real love? Imagine at your first meeting saying to your date,
"My electrons and protons and neutrons are having a hard time staying
away from you." That should go down as one great pick up line. Try it
out and see if it works.
So what
does all of this have to do with Genesis 1:3-5? It has everything to do with
it. Who set the terms of life? God did! Who divided light from darkness? God
did! So we would know who calls the shots in this world. No committee got
together to decide on what to call the day and the night, it was already
decided before we came into being.
Do you
notice what the first part of the day was called? Evening! Why not morning
first instead of evening? When do you rest from your labor? Usually at night
in the evening right? Well unless you are a fireman or work the swing shift.
But most of us rest at night. So what is the first part of the day in God's
eyes, Evening. Why?
Here is
where we see at the very beginning the significant difference between God and
the false gods. God did not create you to work for Him he created you so you
could enjoy his creation. That is why the first part of the day is evening,
the time of rest and reflection, not the time of work and business.
In the
first five verses of Genesis we understand that God desires to bring us rest
and not hard labor. All the other religions command you to work hard and
sacrifice in order to appease the gods but you never know if you have done
enough so you are never able to fully rest and enjoy the works of God. The
true God commands you to cease from your labors and know that he is God.
Listen to Psalmist as he agrees with Genesis "Be still and know that I
am God" (Psalm 46:10)
Let your
day begin with rest. Wait patiently before the Lord and let him set you at
peace. Learn today to rest in his favor and grace. There is nothing you can
do to earn his favor but to trust in his grace in Christ his son. O what a
rest we have entered into.
Laboring
to enter His Rest,
Pastor Phil
|