Read Genesis 1:26-2:3

Think about the most beautiful thing you have encountered recently—your children laughing, an exquisite piece of artwork, a breathtaking sunrise, a song that moves you to tears. It is difficult to think about beauty without considering purpose. It is preposterous to look into the eyes of the person you love most deeply and think, “You must have been an accident.”

When we encounter beauty in the world, something pulls at the heartstrings, and cries out that we are created. We are not haphazardly and coincidentally assembled into beings, but carefully crafted, with an imprint of a Designer on every piece of our being. This is not unique to humans, nor to animals, but to trees and rocks, rivers and lakes, stars and planets.

An ancient ruler once wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Intention. Purpose. Fingerprints of the Almighty on the created world.

The beginning of the Bible doesn’t give a scientific explanation of how each created thing came to be. Genesis speaks of intentionality and purpose. In the beginning, God had a purpose. In the beginning, God spoke, and crafted, and created.

When we talk of Rembrandt or Monet, the Group of Seven or Warhol, we do not analyze the scientific makeup of the paint that was used, or the ratio of oil to pigment, or the temperature the room had to have been when the art was created. We view brushstrokes, and colour, and shape. Succinctly, we see beauty—art.

When you read the two creation accounts in Genesis 1 and 2, consider how the “heavens declare the glory of God.” When you look out your window this week, consider the brushstrokes in the sky. When you walk outside, pause to look for fingerprints. Name the colours. Notice the shapes. Ponder the beauty.

Genesis speaks of an ultimately creative being who sees what is formless and empty, and brings forth life, and calls it good.

Meditate this week on Genesis 1-2. How does this passage speak of intentionality and purpose?

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