The Beginning

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." -Genesis 1.1

I've heard the debate for so long, young earth vs. old earth. Science says this, faith leads this way. It's one of those arguments that seems like a big deal because the truth, or reliability, of the Bible over science seems to hang on nailing down a date for when all of this started. Christians use the Bible to piece together a timeline and come to the young earth mindset, but science says this dinosaur fossil is 65 million years old. I've heard the theories proposed to reconcile the two opposing views, and I even reached out to one of the most brilliant Biblical minds I have the privilege of knowing, asking his thoughts on one particular theory. His response, "I don't think the Bible provides support for any of the theories. It is theological document, not concerned with our scientific questions. Even in Gen 1 the writer utilizes his knowledge of the world in his description of God as the creator of everything visible and invisible to us. I think it gives us a pattern for us to follow. Could we do the same today?"

The Bible doesn't tell us when the beginning was, because it doesn't matter. The time is not important, the Who is. What matters is not how long ago the creation took place, but who made it happen. Whenever the beginning was, God created the heavens and the earth. God is the one who began time, setting the universe into motion. Genesis 1.1 tells us that God is eternal, existing before everything, and bringing everything into existence. It shouldn't shake your faith when science says, "The universe is 13.8 billion years old"* because if that is the truth, it just means that 13.8 billion years ago, God decided to create everything.

It does not matter how old I believe the universe is. What matters is what I believe about it's originator. The Bible tells us that in the beginning, God created. That is what matters. The focus is not on me being able to argue that my timeline is correct for these reasons, but that when everything began, when this amazing creation came into being, God was there making it all happen.

The Bible tells us who the creator is, God. The Bible tells us that God existed before the creation. These are the things that matter. God is eternal, and God is all powerful. The universe exists because God created it.

Genesis 1.1 tells us that God is the eternal creator.

TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY

Peace be with you

*http://www.space.com/24054-how-old-is-the-universe.html