Daily Devotion, November 23, 2020

 

Devotion" Read Genesis 1:1-5.

This begins the beautiful, poetic account of God’s mighty acts of creation. If we were to read the entire account, we would notice how orderly the creation proceeds, providing everything needed to sustain life, with the creation of human beings in God’s image as the final act. As the first created element, light is critically important for photosynthesis and plant life. Light represents good, it enables us to see, and it chases away the fear of darkness. At the end of this week, we will look at the Gospel of John, which begins by stating that the Word of God (the Son) was present with God in the beginning and was active in creation. The qualities of light mentioned above come to mind when John continues by saying the Son came as the light of humanity, and the darkness has not overcome it.

For some time, I mistakenly viewed the Trinity as a hierarchy with the Father at the top followed by the Son and then the Holy Spirit. It turns out this is a heresy known as “subordinationism!” The Son’s active role in creation as proclaimed in John’s gospel is consistent with the plural for God in Genesis 1:26 in which God says, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…” Christ the Son was there with and equal to the Father from the beginning! Personal Worship Option: Reflect on the fact that the Son was always a part of God. The Son came to earth and lived among us as Jesus of Nazareth, one of us, even giving up his equality with the Father while limiting himself in that way. God is so immense, so mysterious, and so loving! Give thanks today for God’s love offered through Christ.