Genesis 1:6-19

Good morning, all!

In this next portion of the creation account, God separated the heavens from the earth, providing a protective atmospheric canopy over the earth that essentially made a greenhouse atmosphere on earth. As Jon Courson points out, that's why we find fossils of tropical vegetation in the Arctic Circle. This canopy protected the earth from intense UV rays, so that man was able to live longer, as well. The collapse of that canopy was the Flood of Noah's day, and that deluge caused cataclysmic changes on the earth and further physical decline to already fallen mankind.

On the third day of creation, we see the beginnings of life as God created vegetation and fruits. Already we see that our Creator God is indeed creative, as we are told He created plants of "various kinds," including the seed-bearing plants that produce fruit "according to their kinds." In other words, apple trees produce apples, not figs. Seriously, think about the impact of this wonderful gift from God to us! He could have produced just one kind of fruit: prunes! Instead, He gave us delicious strawberries, avocados, kiwis, plums, nectarines, pineapples, and prunes to boot! And those wonderful fruits have seeds within them in order to reproduce.

And on the fourth day, He created the sun, the moon, and the stars to separate day from night and to give us seasons. Again, God could have given us one long winter, or even one long summer - and either would have been unbearable. So, instead, He gave us four seasons that perfectly work together to give us all the weather we need for the growth of these great plants and to give us variety to our days. This is really the gift of time. These lights in the sky mark our days - allowing us to organize our lives into work and rest periods. Years ago Don and I took the girls to Washington, DC, and we visited the DAR Museum (one that you can easily overlook, but which is a great place to visit). Anyway, while we were touring one of the state displays (each state contributed a model room that depicts that state's early history), the guide pointed out that candles were used rarely in colonial days - usually only when someone in the house was sick. People went to bed when the sun went down and woke when it came up. It made me realize the impact of the lightbulb: because we CAN now have light 24/7, we feel the need to work through long hours. Just like all technology that followed the lightbulb, there were good and bad consequences to man's inventions. God designed our world to give us periods of rest, but we insist on working well into the night!

The last thing that we can note in these verses is that God created two main sources of light: the greater light, the sun, to rule the day, and the lesser light, the moon, to rule the night. It amazes me that the lesser light is a mere reflection of the greater light. The moon is not the source of the light - it reflects the sun's light. In the same we, we are to reflect the light of Jesus, the Light of the world. Courson points out that when the world gets between the sun and the moon, the moon's light diminishes (an eclipse). To the same degree that we allow the world to come between us and Jesus, our light diminishes. Are we reflecting Christ to the world or allowing the world to snuff out His light???

I'm thanking God today for the wonderful, warm sun, that we can finally see again, and for the beautiful moon that smiles down on us! And for all those wonderful fruits and the amazing variety of plants, including the ones that brighten my garden!