Protecting God's Creation by Kaitlin Esper

Protecting God's Creation

**—Kaitlin Esper**

Day 1 of 3: How was the Earth Formed

All of creation points back to God and His creativity, power, and goodness. With single and simple sentences, our Almighty Creator spoke the world into existence, and we have been given the privilege of stewarding it today.

As Earth Day approaches, I want us to dive deeply into how God created the most awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping universe and how we, as Christians, should respond. Over the next three days, we will be answering three very important questions: (1) “How was the earth formed?”, (2) “Why should Christians care about the environment?”, and (3) “How can we be good stewards of the earth?”.

For our first day, I want to take us all the way back to the beginning. Cue Morgan Freeman’s voice.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 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.” —Genesis 1:1-2 (NIV)

Our question for today may seem silly because, as Christians, we’re supposed to fully and wholeheartedly believe that God created this world and everything in it. Some of us grow up hearing countless Bible stories with cute cartoons and singing all the nursery rhymes about Genesis. But, for those who didn’t grow up in church, Genesis 1 probably isn’t what you remember from your 6th-grade science lesson on the Big Bang.

Whether you grew up singing those endlessly repeated nursery rhymes or had a more worldly view of the earth’s birth, we all must come to terms with what we truly believe about how this world was created.

Deep down in your heart, do you genuinely believe that the miracles God did in Genesis 1 happened? Would your faith in how God’s creation came to be remain unphased in the face of the evolution or science-heavy conversations of today?

At some point, I’m sure all of us, including myself, have doubted the creation story whether we realized it or not. If anything, we’ve felt confused about how science and religion can co-exist.

This confusion and doubt unintentionally lead to confusion and doubt about who our Creator says He is. If we can’t wholeheartedly accept and believe in the miracles in Genesis 1, then we miss out on a massive piece of who our God is.

Our God opens His mouth and speaks things to life. He created light and separated it from the darkness. (Gen. 3-5) He made the sky and separated it from the water. (Gen. 6-8) He gathered the water to one place and created dry ground. (Gen. 9-10) He told the land to produce vegetation. (Gen. 11-13) He set the sun to rule over the day and the moon to rule over the night. (Gen. 14-19) He filled the sea and land with animals, each according to their own kind. (Gen. 20-25) He created man in His image. (Gen. 26-27)

This is the God of the Bible – this is the God we serve. He creates beauty and life from nothing. And if He can do this in nature, how much more can He do it for His children whom He loves.

Today, I encourage you to read through Genesis 1 and soak in the miracle of this world’s existence. Bask in the fact that our God is powerful beyond all belief and has chosen us to be stewards of His incredible creation.

Day 1 of 3: How was the Earth Formed

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