There were so many things that jumped out at me in our passages today, and even more so, how much the NT passage coincided with the OT passage.
First is the amazing power of God's Word. By only His voice, with mere phrases, He created the universe, in all its complexity, out of absolutely nothing.
On a much smaller scale, it is an important reminder of the power of our own words. We can use our words for good and for evil, to build up or destroy.
Reading Genesis 1 through to the of chapter 3 you also see the incredible contrast between the perfection of God's world as He originally created it and intended it to be, and the absolute loss of that perfection and relationship with Him because of the fall. Our sin drives a seemingly immovable barrier between ourselves and God. Adam and Eve are the only humans to ever experience the extreme opposites of the pre and post-fall worlds. They, above all others, would truly understand the horrifically high cost of sin.
And yet, that is what made Romans 1 so fantastic to read immediately afterwards. The seemingly immovable barrier has been lifted in the incarnation, sinless life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul spells out the gospel succinctly in his opening greeting. How wonderful to read those words of hope after the disaster of Genesis 3!
Romans 1 also asserts that creation alone is all the evidence we need to know God exists and that He alone is Lord and He alone is worthy of worship. It is only sin that blinds the world to such obvious truth.
Romans 1:16 is also a tremendous reminder (and challenge) that I never want to live ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It truly is the power of God for salvation. What glorious truth, what glorious hope!
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Genesis 4-6, Romans 2
2 comments:
Well written Tammy! I too was challenged by Paul's words. He reminded me to not only have the desire to effectively live a life pleasing to God, but more importantly to spread the Word of God to everyone we meet, and that we should not be ashamed of our faith and hope in God.
One thing that still jumps out on my is that I had always thought (until VERY recently!) that all the animals were created on the same day. So strange that birds and fish were first.
Another thing that struck me was that nothing is new. Sometimes people say that the bible is not applicable because it's just an old book. The passage reminds us that humans have a sinful nature...they had it then, they have it now. Our need for a Saviour is still the same now as it always was.
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