The God Who Creates… and Defines
By Michael Kelley
"Call me Ishmael." You might know that as the opening line of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Or this one: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." That’s how Jane Austin opened Pride and Prejudice. Or this opening line from Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis:” "As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin."
Good opening lines are powerful. They intrigue, they inspire, and most of all, they make you want to keep reading. Such is the case with the opening words of the Bible. These are not just the words that begin the Bible; they are the beginning of everything. And here are the first four words we find there: “In the beginning, God…”
What follows is the origin of everything. Who are we? Where did we come from? Where are we going? These are the fundamental questions of existence, and we find all those answers and more throughout the Bible. In fact, you could even narrow it down and say we find all those answers - or at least the introduction to all those answers - in the very first chapter of Genesis. This is the beginning of everything - everything, that is, except God. Because in our beginning, and indeed in the universe’s beginning, there was God. God, who does not change. God, who has always been. God, who is all-powerful. In the beginning, God.
And God, in His infinite creative power, brings forth everything else. As we read through this chapter, we find God creating over the course of six days. Starting from a formless void, God speaks light, separates waters, forms land and vegetation, creates celestial bodies like the sun, moon, and stars, fills the seas and skies with life, then creates land animals, and finally, humanity in His own image, giving them dominion over the earth.
But Genesis 1 not only presents a God who creates; it presents a God who defines.
Several times in Genesis 1 we not only see God creating, but God “calling”: He calls the light “day.” He calls the darkness “night.” He calls the expanse “sky.” He calls the dry land “earth” and the gathering of the water “seas.” These are not just names; it is what they are. Similarly, we see in verse 27 that God not only makes human beings, but he makes them male and female. So God not only creates; He also defines.
Now we live in a day and time in which many things are being re-defined. But in walking through Genesis, we are able to go back to the source. We are able to know not just what to call things, but what things actually are. And they are what they are because they are what God intended and made them to be.
All things find their beginning and definition in God, and society does not have the power to change that definition.
Much as we might seek to find freedom, as human beings, in our own autonomy, that kind of pursuit only brings slavery. Until we recognize the authority of a God who not only creates but also defines, we will chase after the wind. But when we do recognize that authority, we will find the glorious freedom that comes from not only being created by God, but living in accordance with His design.
Michael Kelley is a husband, father of three, author, and speaker from Nashville, TN. His latest book is a year-long family devotional guide called The Whole Story for the Whole Family. Find his personal blog at michaelkelley.co.