Through the Bible in 2012

Day 3 Readings:

Genesis 3-4
Psalm 5
Psalm 6

Comments:

By chapter three, the paradise that God has created begins to fall apart. Adam and Eve disobey God and their son Cain kills their son Abel.

Maybe you feel that way as we enter into the new year. Things are good for awhile, then they fall apart. Psychologically, we feel that January 1 is a brand new start. We desperately want things to be different this year! Over and over, however, people discover that the world has not changed that much. WE have not changed that much. New Year's resolutions we made with gusto may already be abandoned. The so-called good luck effect of the black-eyed peas is dimming. It's only January 4 for crying out loud!

I don't mean to sound depressing today. Just a realist. And the scriptures are real about humanity. We are created in the image of God and God calls us good. AND we blow it horribly. We sin. We mess up.

The good news is that God does not give up on us. One striking feature to me is that when Adam and Eve sin and then begin to feel the effects of their sin (they become ashamed of their nakedness; they hide from God), God comes to them. God does not abandon them. They hear the sound of God walking in the garden. God calls out to them. This is the first question of the Bible: God asks, "Where are you?"

This is the message of Christmas which we have just celebrated. God with us. Emmanuel. A few thousand years before the birth of Christ, God was also with us.

We are beginning a fantastic journey as God walks with his people through history. It all begins right here in Genesis. And you and I are a part of it today.