In the beginning…
In the beginning, God was. God acted. Eight different verbs are used to describe for all time what God did “in the beginning.” They are verbs worth thinking about today.
God “created.” This universe isn’t an accident, and neither are you. We’re not living within a coincidence or blind fate or a meaningless void. We have a Maker.
God “said.” Our Maker has not been silent. Not only has he expressed his intentions for his creation, he’s preserved the revelation of those intentions for us. You can pick that revelation up and read it for yourself today–the Bible. God has spoken and you can know what he has said.
God “saw.” Our Creator is not absent, distant, uninterested, or uninvolved. He sees. He knows.
God “separated.” So much of his work has been “separating” work–light from darkness, the holy from the common, sin from himself, and those created in his image from sin.
God “called.” From Page 1 of the Bible, he is the great Definer–day and night, male and female, good, very good, not good, and evil.
God “made.” As a potter exercises sovereignty over a lump of clay, God has every right to express the meaning and purpose of his creation.
God “set.” He has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, marked off the heavens with a span, and weighed the mountains in scales. He is the establisher of limits, periods, and boundaries.
God “blessed”–a precious verb that reveals his deepest desire for humanity.
“He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for
‘In him we live and move and have our being.'” (Acts 17:26-28)
God created, said, saw, separated, called, made, set, and blessed. He wants what is best for his creation.
When we ignore the verbs of Genesis 1, not only are we missing out on the best, we–the created–are “without excuse” (Rom 1:20). Romans 1 goes on to strongly warn that when we fail to honor him as God or give thanks to him, we become futile in our thinking, and our foolish hearts are darkened.
The verbs on Page 1 of your Bible matter. Carry them with you today. Allow them to shape your thinking and cast light on your path. They have been preserved to introduce us to the greatest reality in the universe.