Unit 2 In God’s mage · 2019-08-13 · 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4...

Unit 1 God, the Creator

September 1 In the Beginning, God 2

September 8 Together, But Why? 8

September 15 The Thick Darkness 14

September 22 God’s First Creation 20

September 29 God’s Ultimate Messenger 26

Unit 2 In God’s Image

October 6 Hidden Inside 32

October 13 One Size Fits All 38

October 20 Bridging the Chasm 44

October 27 All in 50

Unit 3 Objects of Worship

November 3 An Interior Design 56

November 10 The Permission Trap 62

November 17 Shamed by Shams 68

November 24 The Worship Impulse 74

Sep. 1

Sep. 8

Sep. 15

Sep. 22

Sep. 29

Oct. 6

Oct. 13

Oct. 20

Oct. 27

Nov. 10

Nov. 17

Nov. 24

Nov. 3

FALL QUARTER 2019GOD

Comprehensive.Fall.19.qxp_Comp.Win.09 7/4/19 7:55 PM Page 1

Lesson 1 2 September 1

PurposeTo To show that the Creation story helps us understand our place in the world and

God’s intention for usHearing the Word

The Scripture for this lesson is printed below

In the Beginning, God

Genesis 1:1-5, 27-29; 2:1-4a (NIV)Genesis 1:1-5

1 In the beginning God created the heav-ens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty,darkness was over the surface of the deep, andthe Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” andthere was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and heseparated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the dark-ness he called “night.” And there was evening,and there was morning—the first day.

27-29 27 So God created mankind in his ownimage, in the image of God he created them;male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Befruitful and increase in number; fill the earthand subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea andthe birds in the sky and over every living crea-ture that moves on the ground.” 29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth andevery tree that has fruit with seed in it. They willbe yours for food.”

2:1-4a 1 Thus the heavens and the earth werecompleted in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished thework he had been doing; so on the seventh dayhe rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day andmade it holy, because on it he rested from allthe work of creating that he had done. 4a This is the account of the heavens andthe earth when they were created,…

Genesis 1:1-5, 27-29; 2:1-4a (KJV)Genesis 1:1-5

1 In the beginning God created the heavenand the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, andvoid; and darkness was upon the face of thedeep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the faceof the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: andthere was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good:and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and thedarkness he called Night. And the evening andthe morning were the first day.

27-29 27 So God created man in his own image, inthe image of God created he him; male andfemale created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God saidunto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replen-ish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominionover the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of theair, and over every living thing that moveth uponthe earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given youevery herb bearing seed, which is upon the faceof all the earth, and every tree, in the which isthe fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall befor meat.

2:1-4a 1 Thus the heavens and the earth were fin-ished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended hiswork which he had made; and he rested on theseventh day from all his work which he hadmade. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, andsanctified it: because that in it he had rested


from all his work which God created and made.4a These are the generations of the heavens

and of the earth when they were created,…

Seeing the NeedWhen I was growing up, my family

moved several times. Each time, every-thing felt somewhat chaotic as theempty moving van pulled away from theparsonage and we were left in our newhome surrounded by stacks of boxes. Iremember a moving day when I was incollege. Among the first things my dadunpacked were the living room lamps.He carefully lifted them from the boxes,unwrapped them, put them on sidetables, and plugged them in. We appreci-ated the soft glow of light as darknessfell.

As I read the verses in the focal pas-sage for this lesson, I thought about thesignificance of light being the first thingGod spoke into being. As God began the

creative work of bringing shape and formto creation, “God said, ‘Let there belight’” (Genesis 1:3). God then “sepa-rated the light from the darkness” (verse4). God completed the work of Creation,saying, “Let us make humanity” (verse26).

We sense that humanity is differentfrom the rest of creation, for humanity iscreated in God’s own image. Light andhumanity, then, are the bookends of Cre-ation in this account. God saw this com-pleted creation as “supremely good”(verse 31).

As this ancient author brings this nar-rative to a close, he informs us that “onthe sixth day God completed all the workthat he had done, and on the seventhday God rested” (2:2). What do theseamazing gifts of light, life, and rest tell usabout God and our place in God’s cre-ation?

Without Shape or FormThe psalmist declared, “The earth is

the Lord’s and everything in it, the worldand its inhabitants too. Because God isthe one who established it on the seas;God set it firmly on the waters” (Psalm24:1-2). This psalm reflects the view-point of ancient people that the world“originated from and was founded upona watery abyss.”1

This understanding is evident in Gen-esis 1:2, which tells us that “the earthwas without shape or form, it was darkover the deep sea, and God’s wind sweptover the waters.” Walter Brueggemann,professor emeritus of Old Testament atColumbia Theological University, writes,“Verse 2 appeals to traditional imagery


DAILY BIBLE STUDY

August 26 Psalm 19:1-6

August 27 Job 9:4-10

August 28 Proverbs 3:13-20

August 29 Psalm 33:3-9

August 30 Hebrews 11:1-3

August 31 Exodus 31:12-17

September 1 Genesis 1:1-5; 2:1-4



and is informed by the common notionthat creation is an ordering out of analready existing chaos.”2

In contrast, verses 1 and 3 may beinterpreted to mean that God createdthe world out of nothing (ex nihilo inLatin). Some biblical scholars have sug-gested that another author possiblyinserted verse 2.3 If this is the case, theoriginal text would have read, “WhenGod began to create the heavens andthe earth. . . . God said, ‘Let there belight. And so light appeared’ ” (verses 1,3). Verse 1 may also be translated toread, “In the beginning, God created theheavens and the earth.”4

Walter Brueggemann writes, “Therelation of verses 1 and 2 is not obvious.Verse 1 suggests God began with noth-ing. Verse 2 makes clear there was anexisting chaos. It is likely that verse is amore primit ive, tradit ional notion,whereas 1 is more reflective about itstheological claim. By the time of the NewTestament, it was affirmed that God cre-ated out of nothing.”5

Paul wrote in Romans 4:17, “So Abra-ham is our father in the eyes of God inwhom he had faith, the God who giveslife to the dead and calls things thatdon’t exist into existence.” Hebrews 11:3says, “By faith we understand that theuniverse has been created by a wordfrom God so that the visible came intoexistence from the invisible.”

We may find this ambiguity frustrat-ing, yet Brueggemann suggests that wedo not need to make a choice between“creation from nothing and creation fromchaos . . . even as the text does not.”6 Heemphasizes that Genesis 1:1–2:4 “is nota scientific description but a theologicalaffirmation. It makes a faith statement.”7

Yes, God is the Creator of the world.Yes, God is able to create somethingfrom nothing. Yes, God is able to bringshape and form to any and all chaos thatexists within creation, including thechaos that finds its way into our ownlives.

How have you experienced God asone who creates from nothing? Howhave you experienced God as one whocreates and brings form and shapewithin chaos?

Let There Be LightWe often think of darkness as the

opposite of l ight. My scientif ical lyminded husband is quick to tell me thatdarkness is not a thing in and of itself.Darkness, scientifically speaking, is sim-ply the absence of light.

There was no light when God beganthe creative work. Genesis 1:1-3 says,“When God began to create the heavensand the earth . . . it was dark. . . . Godsaid, “‘Let there be light.’ ” And so lightappeared.” The creation of light startedthe process of bringing life to the worldand order to the chaos in the wateryabyss.

God then “separated the light fromthe darkness” (verse 4). This act of sepa-ration was the next step in bringingshape and form to creation. With thisseparation of light and dark came theordering of time, the creation of the firstday (verse 5), and the repeating cycle ofday and night.

It is interesting to note that the sun,moon, and stars were not created untilthe fourth day. Note also that these arecalled “lights” (verse 14), plural, not“light,” singular, as in verse 3. The pur-pose of these lights is “to separate the



day from the night” and to “mark events,sacred seasons, days, and years” (verse14).

The people of Israel and Judah livedamong pagan peoples who worshipedthe heavenly bodies as gods. This wasstrictly forbidden for God’s chosen peo-ple. The first commandment states, “Youmust have no other gods before me. Donot make an idol for yourself––no formwhatsoever––of anything in the skyabove or on the earth below or in thewaters under the earth” (Deuteronomy5:7-8).

Moses warned the Israelites, “Don’tlook to the skies, to the sun or the moonor the stars, all the heavenly bodies, andbe led astray, worshipping and servingthem. The Lord your God has grantedthese things to all the nations who liveunder heaven” (Deuteronomy 4:19). Thisaccount of Creation clearly makes thepoint that the heavenly bodies are cre-ations of God given for all people. Theyare not gods in and of themselves to beworshiped.

When we read the opening verses ofthis Creation account, “In the beginning .. . God said, ‘Let there be light’ ” (Gene-sis 1:1, 3, NIV), we are reminded of theopening chapter of the Gospel of John.“In the beginning was the Word. . . .Through the Word was life, and the lifewas the light for all people. The lightshines in the darkness, and the dark-ness doesn’t extinguish the light” (John1:1, 4-5).

Remember, darkness is simply theabsence of light. Darkness has no powerto extinguish light. God’s gift of light,especially the gift of the light that isChrist, brings shape and form to our livesas children of God.

Why is it significant for you that thefirst thing God spoke into being waslight?

In the Divine ImageR. W. L. Moberly, professor of theol-

ogy and biblical interpretation at DurhamUniversity, writes, “Although an impres-sive sequence of divine fiats––‘Let therebe . . . and it was so’––runs throughGenesis 1, creation is not through fiatalone, but also substantially throughfashioning.”8 The “fashioning” is indi-cated by the verbs “to create” and “tomake.”9

God’s last creative command in Gen-esis 1 is, “Let us make humanity in ourimage” (Genesis 1:26). Walter Brueg-gemann notes that “the special cluster-ing of the word ‘create’ in verse 27 sug-gests that the text wishes to focus on thecreation of humankind.10

Of everything God created, onlyhumanity is “created . . . in God’s ownimage” (verse 27). Brueggemann callsattention to the fact that God speaksdirectly only to humankind (verses 28-30) but not to any other creatures. ThusGod calls humanity into “a different, inti-mate relation with the creator [and] hasmade a peculiarly intense commitment(by speaking).”11 But humanity has beengiven “marvelous freedom” as to how itwill respond.

God calls humankind to “be fertileand multiply; fill the earth and master it”(verse 28). As we fulfill the call to “takecharge” (verse 28), we look to God tounderstand what that means. Not sur-prisingly, God’s way is not the way shownto us in the secular world. God’s image ischaracterized by love. The depth ofGod’s love is shown in the gift of JesusChrist. As bearers of the divine image,


we are called to let love guide the waywe master and interact with God’s cre-ation.

How does the truth that you are cre-ated in the image of God influence theway you interact with creation?

God RestedBible scholars generally agree that a

priest during Judah’s exile to Babylon inthe sixth century bc composed this Cre-ation account. Imagine what it was likefor the people of Judah to be so far fromhome in a land and culture unfamiliar tothem.

They associated God’s presence withJerusalem and the Temple, and now thatTemple had been destroyed. Psalm 137expresses their feelings: “AlongsideBabylon’s streams, there we sat down,crying because we remembered Zion. . . .But how could we possibly sing theLord’s song on foreign soil?” (Psalm137:1, 4).

This beautiful account of Creation hasmuch to tell us in the 21st century aboutGod and God’s relationship with us. Wemight wonder, What did this story offerthe exiles in Babylon? They certainly feltthat their lives were in chaos, “withoutshape or form” (Genesis 1:2).

This account reminded the chosenpeople that God was indeed the Creatorof the world and sovereign over all cre-ation. It reminded the people of theirspecial relationship with God. They werecreated in God’s divine image and werethe bearers of that image even in a for-eign place.

After “God completed all the workthat he had done . . . on the seventh dayGod rested” (2:2). This provided anexample for God’s people that work and

rest have value. As a community, thepeople of God observed this weekly dayof rest, an act of faithfulness on theirpart and a way to show honor for Godamong their pagan neighbors.

Each time my family moved, we feltchaos around us. Not only did we desireshape and form as we unpacked boxesand found new places for our belong-ings, we desired order as we grew toknow our new congregation and foundour place in our new community. Welooked to God to create new opportuni-ties for service and friendships.

Moving from one town to another isnot the only life event that can leave usfeeling lost in chaos. Facing an illness,moving forward in light of a broken rela-tionship, and grieving the loss of a lovedone can also cause us to feel as thoughthe foundations under our feet are crum-bling. We trust that God is able to movewithin the chaos and speak light into thedarkness. We pray for God’s creativepower to bring shape and form (1:2) toour new situations. We wait with antici-pation for new opportunities, new friend-ships, and new hope that God will createfor us.

In all situations, we want to remem-ber that we are indeed created in thedivine image. As God offers love andcare for us, we respond to the gifts ofcreation with caring love. We also do wellto remember and observe God’s gift ofrest!

The first five lessons this quarterinvite us to observe the spiritual prac-tices of mindfulness, listening, andsilence. Look for places where you maysit and rest in silence and experiencevarious aspects of God’s creation. Bemindful of God’s creative work around



you. Listen for what God may speak intoyour life.

Holy God of all creation, thank you forspeaking light into the darkness and for

bringing order into the chaos we experi-ence. Help us to be faithful bearers ofyour divine image in the world. Keep usmindful of our need for rest; in Jesus’name we pray. Amen.


1 From The New Oxford Annotated Bible, NRSV, Old Testament (Oxford University Press); page 2. 2 From Genesis, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Preaching and Teaching series, by Walter

Brueggemann (Westminster John Knox Press, 1986); page 29.3 From The Interpreter’s Bible, Volume 1 (Abingdon Press); pages 466-468.4 From The CEB Study Bible, Old Testament; page 4.5 From Genesis; page 29. 6 From Genesis; page 29. 7 From Genesis; page 25.8 From The Theology of the Book of Genesis (Old Testament Theology), by R. W. L. Moberly (Cam-

bridge University Press); page 43.9 From The Theology of the Book of Genesis; page 43.10 From Genesis; page 31.11 From Genesis; page 31.



PurposeTo consider that it does not suit God’s purposes for us to exist in isolation from other

humans

Hearing the Word The Scripture for this lesson is printed below.

Together, But Why

Genesis 2:4b, 7, 15-18, 21-25 (NIV)Genesis 2:4

4b …when the Lord God made the earth andthe heavens.…

7 7 Then the Lord God formed a man fromthe dust of the ground and breathed into hisnostrils the breath of life, and the man becamea living being.

15-18 15 The Lord God took the man and put himin the Garden of Eden to work it and take care ofit. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man,“You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of theknowledge of good and evil, for when you eatfrom it you will certainly die.” 18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for theman to be alone. I will make a helper suitable forhim.”

21-25 21 So the Lord God caused the man to fallinto a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, hetook one of the man’s ribs and then closed upthe place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman fromthe rib he had taken out of the man, and hebrought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of mybones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 24 That is why a man leaves his father andmother and is united to his wife, and theybecome one flesh. 25 Adam and his wife were both naked, andthey felt no shame.

Genesis 2:4b, 7, 15-18, 21-25 (KJV)Genesis 2:4

4b …in the day that the Lord God made theearth and the heavens,…

7 7 And the Lord God formed man of thedust of the ground, and breathed into his nos-trils the breath of life; and man became a livingsoul.

15-18 15 And the Lord God took the man, and puthim into the garden of Eden to dress it and tokeep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man,saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayestfreely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of goodand evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the daythat thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 18 And the Lord God said, It is not good thatthe man should be alone; I will make him anhelp meet for him.

21-25 21 And the Lord God caused a deep sleep tofall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one ofhis ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the Lord God hadtaken from man, made he a woman, andbrought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of mybones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be calledWoman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his fatherand his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife:and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man andhis wife, and were not ashamed.



Seeing the NeedI liked living on campus when I was

in college. I treasured my friendships withother girls in the dorm. I enjoyed the con-versation and fellowship around the tablein the dining hall. Even when I was study-ing alone at one of the desks in the library,I felt a kinship with other students whowere poring over books and writing papersnearby.

Genesis 2:18 says, “Then the Lord Godsaid, ‘It’s not good that the human isalone.’ ” In other words, it is not good forhumans to live their lives in isolation fromother humans. As you read this text, doyou notice that it does not explain exactlywhy or for whom it is not good?

Perhaps this verse is saying: “It’s notgood for the human that the human isalone.”

Perhaps this verse is saying: “It’s not

good for God and God’s purposes that thehuman is alone.”

Perhaps the verse is saying both!Read Genesis 2 with fresh eyes, as if

you have never read these verses before.Then consider how you would answer thequestion in the title for this lesson:“Together, But Why?”

Topsoil and BreathThe Bible actually provides two Cre-

ation accounts: Genesis 1:1–2:4 (thefocus of Lesson 1) and Genesis 2:4-25(the focus of this lesson). Both accountsacknowledge God as the Creator of theworld. Both stories affirm humankind’sunique relationship with God and creation,but there are differences.

For example, the order in which thingswere created varies between the twoaccounts. In the Creation account in Gene-sis 1, God created humankind on the sixthday, after everything else had been cre-ated. In the events recorded in Genesis 2,God created humankind on the first day,before the plants and animals: “On theday the Lord God made earth and sky––before any wild plants appeared on theearth, and before any field crops grew, . . .the Lord God formed the human” (Genesis2:4-5, 7).

You may sense a more personal tone inGenesis 2. The story invites us to imagineGod scooping up some of “the topsoil ofthe fertile land” (verse 7) and gently form-ing the human.

The Hebrew word translated here as“formed” (verse 7) is the same as thatused for a potter forming something fromclay. We picture God drawing this formclose and lovingly breathing “life’s breath

DAILY BIBLE STUDY

September 2 Genesis 2:4-9

September 3 Ezekiel 37:1-10

September 4 Genesis 2:10-17

September 5 Isaiah 51:1-3

September 6 1 Corinthians 15:44-53

September 7 Matthew 19:3-8

September 8 Genesis 2:4b, 7,15-18,21-25



into his nostrils” (verse 7).In the Hebrew text, the word used for

“land” in verse 7 is adamah, and the wordfor “human” (or “man” in some transla-tions) is adam. Thus God created adamfrom adamah, the human from the land.This image was especially significant tothe people of Israel. As an agricultural peo-ple, they depended on the land for theirlivelihood.

Jesus based some of his teaching illus-trations on the agricultural lifestyle. Wecan picture the farming families looking upwith interest when he began a parable bysaying, “A farmer went out to scatter seed”(Matthew 13:3). His listeners may havebeen recalling their personal experiencesof planting when Jesus said, “The kingdomof heaven is like a mustard seed thatsomeone took and planted in his field”(Matthew 13:31).

What has been your experience with“the topsoil of the fertile land” (Genesis2:7)? Do you live on a farm? Do you have avegetable garden, potted plants, a flowerbed? Do you look forward to spring whenyou can dig in the dirt and sift the fertilesoil between your fingers?

We depend on the earth’s bounty offruits and vegetables that grow in this fer-tile land. We find joy in the beauty of flow-ers and foliage that spring up from the top-soil. The ancient writer tells us that Godformed the human person from the fertiletopsoil and gave the person life with divinebreath.

What does Genesis 2:7 tell you aboutyour relationship with God?

A Place to LiveAfter God created the human, God “set-

tled him in the garden of Eden to farm it

and to take care of it” (Genesis 2:15). Inother words, God gave the human a placeto live and something to do. Rememberthat Israel was predominantly an agricul-tural society, so it is fitting that the work ofthe first human was farming.

The ancient Hebrews would haveunderstood the phrase “to take care of” toinclude the responsibilities of protectingand carefully watching over the garden.1They would have understood “to farm” tomean to cultivate the land and to growplants, just as we do. In Hebrew, to farmhas the added meaning of serving, as in“the service of servants to masters . . . ofone people to another . . . and of people toGod.”2

I wonder if we are more accustomed tothinking that creation exists to serve us, asit offers us food, water, recreational oppor-tunities, and beauty. This ancient Creationaccount tells us that the opposite is true.We are called to serve creation and to pro-tect and to care for all that God has made.

In what ways has God called you toserve and protect creation?

Yes and NoAfter God settled the human in the gar-

den, God gave him permission to “‘eat[his] fill from all of the garden’s trees’”(Genesis 2:16). I remember riding with mydad sometimes when he was making pas-toral visits to members of his congrega-tion. One day, we stopped by the home ofa parishioner who owned a peach orchard.It was harvest time, and he took us out-side and gave us peaches that had justbeen plucked from the trees. I rememberthe sweet taste and the juice runningdown my fingers. God gave the human per-mission to taste, eat, and delight in the


bounty of God’s creation.Has it been your experience that when

you receive permission to do something,you are also given a prohibition? When wewere children, our parents said, “You mayplay in the yard, but don’t go out in thestreet.” The doctor says, “You may eat allthe fruits and vegetables you want but notall the desserts.” God said, “ ‘Eat your fillfrom all of the garden’s trees; but don’teat from the tree of the knowledge of goodand evil, because on the day you eat fromit, you will die!’ ” (verses 16-17)

What do you make of this prohibition?Why was there a tempting, threateningtree in the middle of the human’s newhome? Noted biblical scholar WalterBrueggemann suggests that the tree itselfis not the main point here. He writes,“What counts is the fact of the prohibition,the authority of the one who speaks andthe unqualified expectation of obedi-ence.”3

In other words, from the beginning Godoffered humankind freedom while at thesame time setting boundaries for thatfreedom. Just as children do not alwaysunderstand a parent’s reason for a prohi-bition, we do not always understand whyGod sets certain boundaries. We do knowthat God expects obedience, and this obe-dience is in our best interest.

Verses 15-17 tell us that God gave thehuman a vocation: to serve, care for, andprotect God’s creation. God gave thehuman permission to partake of the fruitof the land. God gave the human a prohibi-tion: Do not disobey the will of God.Brueggemann labels vocation, permission,and prohibition as the three main parts ofGod’s “divine purpose”4 for humankind.

We see these three aspects of thedivine purpose at work in our lives today.God continues to entrust us with the voca-tion to care for and serve creation, theland and the people. God gives us permis-sion to take delight in the beauty andbounty of creation. God calls us to be obe-dient to the divine will and to respect theprohibitions God sets before us.

How have you experienced vocation,permission, and prohibition in your rela-tionship with God?

A Perfect HelperAfter God settled the human in the gar-

den, “God said, ‘It’s not good that thehuman is alone. I will make him a helperthat is perfect for him’ ” (Genesis 2:18).The phrase “perfect for him” may also betranslated “like himself” or “correspondingto him.”5 The perfect helper was “fash-ioned” from a “rib taken from the human”(verse 22). The human, adam, then spokeof this new creation: “ ‘She will be called awoman because from a man she wastaken’ ” (verse 23).

In Hebrew, the word used here for“woman” is translated ishshah, which alsomeans “wife.” The Hebrew word renderedas “man” in the last line of verse 23 is ish,which also means “husband.”6 Man andwoman, male and female, were then cre-ated at the same time. This correspondswith Genesis 1:27: “In the divine imageGod created them, male and female Godcreated them.”

The Hebrew words ish and ishshahsupport God’s intention that humans donot live in isolation from other humans.The example in this Creation account isthe relationship of marriage. When a manand woman come together in marriage,




they create a new family and also bringtheir two families of origin together tomake a larger extended family.

Within the relationship of marriage,children may be born. Babies are born intoa family, not alone in isolation. Babies arehelpless to care for themselves anddepend on the care and nurture of othersfor their survival. For a number of reasons,not all children grow up in their birth fami-lies. Some are raised by grandparents orother relatives. Some are welcomed intofoster families, adoptive families, or chil-dren’s homes. In all cases, children thriveand grow when they are raised in healthyand supportive communities.

The relationship of marriage is not theonly example we find in the Bible of livingin fellowship with others. God promised tomake of Abraham “a great nation” (Gene-sis 12:2). Ruth and her mother-in-lawNaomi found community with each otherafter their husbands and Naomi’s sonsdied.

God’s people are called to care fororphans and widows. Jesus calledtogether a group of disciples to share inhis ministry while he was on earth and tosupport one another after his resurrection.The apostle Paul developed faith commu-nities as he shared the gospel. Hedepended on the fellowship and supportof fellow missionaries and believers as heendured hardship and prison. Today thechurch continues to be a place of fellow-ship and community for believers.

Jane E. Vennard writes, “Jesus calls usinto community, into relationship with oth-ers as well as with himself and his Abba.When he taught the disciples to pray hegave them plural words: Our Father, giveus this day, forgive us as we forgive, lead

us, deliver us (paraphrase, Matt. 6:9-13).”7

How have your relationships with oth-ers added meaning to your life and drawnyou closer to God?Good for God and Good for HumanityWe can interpret Genesis 2:18 to

mean, “It’s not good for the human thatthe human is alone.” God created us toneed relationships with others from theday we were born.

We may also interpret verse 18 tomean, “Iit’s not good for God and God’spurposes that the human is alone.” Whywould this be?

One idea relates to God’s intent that wecare for and delight in creation. The call tocare for creation is fulfilled through thecooperative efforts of many people work-ing in a variety of vocations. Some partici-pate in ministries with the poor; some carefor children and the elderly; others serve inthe areas of medicine, education, or theenvironment; and the list goes on.

It is not all work and no play, however.Imagine God’s delight when seeing a par-ent and child playing together at theseashore or a youth group marveling at asunset together while on a retreat.

Another idea relates to God’s invitationto live in relationship with God. God did notcreate the world and then step aside. Godcalled the Israelites to be the chosen peo-ple and promised to remain with them.God offers salvation, grace, and the hopeof eternal life through Christ to all who willbelieve and follow.

This week we are invited to continue toobserve the spiritual practices of mindful-ness, listening, and silence. Take time torest in silence. Be mindful of the people


God has placed in your life and of God’sgift of community. Listen for ways God iscalling you to serve creation and invite oth-ers into the fellowship of believers. Creating God, thank you for including us in

your work of serving creation and for invit-ing us to delight in creation’s beauty andbounty. Let us be receptive to the ways youcall us to live in relationship with you andothers; in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.


1 From The CEB Study Bible, Old Testament; page 8.2 From The CEB Study Bible, Old Testament; page 8.3 From Genesis; page 46.4 From Genesis; page 46.5 From The CEB Study Bible, Old Testament; page 8.6 From The CEB Study Bible, Old Testament; page 9. 7 From Companions in Christ––The Way of Prayer, participant’s book, by Jane E. Vennard and

Stephen D. Bryant (Upper Room, 2006) ; page 106.


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Unit 2 In God’s mage · 2019-08-13 · 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4...

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