In the Beginning... It was about Him

I am starting this new year of 2010 in Genesis.  As I am reading along in the beginning of this book I am trying to get the big picture, I am trying to read the beginning in light of the whole.  What is coming through most clearly as I read these first eight chapters is God’s righteousness, holiness, and moral perfection.  I use these three terms to describe one idea or one attribute about God; that is his perfection or the fact that he is morally pure to an infinite degree.  Genesis seems to be starting in a direction that if understood sets up a framework for the cross that keeps God central and not myself.  I believe that the message of the cross in this generation can very easily become man-centered.  The main and primary way that we view the cross is Jesus coming to redeem us so that we can have relationship with God. 

Now I hesitate to even go forward because I do not want to come off as rejecting the previous sentence.  I love the previous sentence!  A thousand times I love it!  But I want to make sure that I have that previous statement framed in a bigger picture, a grander production of redemption.  God is a God of love; there is no doubt about that, but God loves himself more than anything else.  I believe that this redemption of man framed in a larger picture of redemption can be seen even in Genesis, hopefully seeing it here will get us all started in the right direction so that when we see the cross we know that although we get caught up in this grand redemption, it is not ultimately or supremely about us.

In the beginning God creates this “good” place, God looks at what he has made and knows and declares that it is good (Gen. 1:31).  Man selfishly begins to defame this good and beautiful creation that God has made.  As man pridefuly grasps for things that are not due him he in the process mares the goodness and glory of God’s creation.  Imagine this extraordinary painting that people come from great distances to see, it is terribly expensive watched by guards constantly, locked away at night.  Many people have come to gaze at its beauty.  The fall of man is like a crook wrestling his way past the guards and taking a knife to the canvas.  Man did not only disobey God although that would be more than enough for our condemnation, but we wanted to be like God (Gen. 3:5).  It was our envy and jealousy that took the knife to this glorious creation God made.  We saw the beauty of God Almighty and rather than enjoying his beauty we desired to defame him and take his place so that we would be put on display and people would sing our praise.  In the process we began to defame the manifestation of his glory in creation.

By chapter 6 of Genesis we see a clear picture of how God feels about his creation being corrupted.  The clear picture that comes across is that God is set on totally annihilating all living things.  It actually says that he was “sorry” and “grieved” that he had made earth (Gen. 6:6).  After the fall mankind became exceedingly corrupt to the point where when God looked down all he saw was evil.  He is set on “blotting out” the earth but he finds favor in one man, Noah (Gen. 6:8). 

God being ready to destroy his creation points to the fact that redemption is not ultimately about man.  It is about him redeeming creation to accurately represent his glory as it did in the beginning when he made it before man sinned and began to distort and destroy this manifestation of God’s beauty and excellence.  What God is angry about is the fact that all of these evil people are living in such a way that it lies about who he is.  He hates evil and wrong and clearly from the events that soon happen in Genesis it is clear that he will not allow it to go unpunished.  The main point that stands out about Noah is that he was a righteous and blameless man in a sinful and corrupt world.  This righteousness and blamelessness is what God saw and in light of this righteousness God had favor in Noah. 

“Noah’s rescue from the flood was not ultimately about Noah 

and our salvation is not ultimately about us.”

God did not just decide to destroy everybody and show that he is gracious by saving a random man and his family.  God’s purpose in destroying the earth and saving a righteous man and his family was to redeem his creation so that it would once again accurately portray who he is.  It angered him that his creation was lying about its Creator. 

Now we look to the cross and see that the flood is a foreshadowing of eternal hell.  Noah is a foreshadowing of all of those who trust in Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.  God’s saving instrument for Noah was an ark and his saving instrument for his chosen people is his son Jesus Christ dying on a cross and rising from death to life.  He will accomplish the restoration of his creation when Christ returns so that is once again (and this time eternally) accurately represents his glorious nature.  Christ came to redeem his father's glory, that was his primary and ultimate aim in coming to earth.  It was not primarily about us.  I pray that I would follow Christ in living for the glory of God and not my own selfish interest.  Father, rid me of my tendency to make the cross about me, may I see that your purpose of redemption is to redeem your glory and have creation once again display and accurate picture of who you are.  I do not want to be the central piece of art, rather, I want to gaze into your beauty, stand in awe, and worship.