The Certainty of Genesis

Every year, in the weeks preceding Christmas, I reread A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. In the opening pages of this charming little book, Dickens painstakingly confirms the actual death of Jacob Marley. He is insistent that his reading audience understand that Marley was dead, really, truly dead! After detailing the demise of Jacob Marley, Dickens writes, "There is no doubt that Marley was dead. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come of the story I am going to relate." Dickens declares that if the fact of Marley's death is lost to the reader, then we are never going to comprehend and embrace what follows in the life of Ebenezer Scrooge. And so it is with Genesis 1 and 2. If we do not understand, as fact, that God is our creator, we will never be able to understand and apply all that follows in the Bible. If we fail to embrace God as the sovereign of the universe, we will never come to terms with our own sin; we will never begin to see the depths of God's love, mercy, and grace; and we will never consider our absolute dependence on him for all things. Granted, thinking hard about God, his origin and place in the beginning of the biblical storyline, can be a daunting task. As G.K. Chesterton once said, "God is like the sun; you cannot look at it, but without it you cannot look at anything else." We may not be able to explain all things about God; that's a given. But as Dickens confirms to his readers the utmost importance of excepting Marley's death for the sake of a fictional story, we are called to except the truth of Genesis 1 & 2, that it may serve as a foundation for all else God is telling us. Settle the issue in your heart; God is who he says he is! Be certain of that!