And God said, ”Let there be light,” and there was light. (Gen. 1:3)
In the realm of masterpieces, few can match the works of Michelangelo. Considered his best work, the frescoes of the iconic Sistine Chapel pale in comparison with the masterpiece that is creation. John Glenn Jr., the first American to orbit the earth, could only remark from his view aboard the space shuttle Discovery, “To look . . . at this kind of creation and not believe in God is to me impossible.”
Imagine the Spirit of God hovering over the waters, taking a formless, empty abyss, engulfed by darkness, and deliberately fashioning it into a glorious landscape that continues to elicit our “oohs” and “ahs.” In response to the first of God’s creative commands, the light had no choice but to appear, chasing away the thick darkness that had hitherto covered the face of the deep. The second of God’s creative acts formalized this permanent separation, the light from the darkness, the former which he called day, and the latter night. By blessing the light while calling it good, God declared it to be a reflection of himself, who is the ultimate Light and the epitome of goodness.
Creation, then, invites us to faith in the absolute goodness of the loving Creator. The heavens perpetually declare the glory of God and with it their invitation to faith. You must RSVP.
Thank the Creator for his goodness and reflect his light.
Theodore Griffin is a graduate of Houghton College and Asbury Theological Seminary and a doctoral student at Wesley Seminary. He is also lead pastor of Brown’s Chapel Wesleyan Church in Indiana.
© 2021 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.