Great VersesSample

Let there be light

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

It is only fitting that God’s first act following the creation of heaven and earth is the creation of light. Light is a symbol of truth and life, of grace and goodness. The creation of light in Genesis 1:3 represents the Bible’s first faint reference to our redemption through Jesus Christ.

Just as light shines in the darkness, Jesus is the light of the world and will shine into the darkness of our hearts. Paul uses this very image when he quotes Genesis 1:3 in 2 Corinthians: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).

God is not only Creator, he is also Redeemer. The great Creator of the universe is also the God who saves. Where would we be if God were only great and not also good?

From the outset of the Bible, we see that God is both great and good. And we see it throughout the Bible, up to the great crescendo of Revelation 4-5, where God is worshiped as Creator (Rev. 4) and as Redeemer (Rev. 5). This is our God. This is your God. He is Creator and Redeemer. He is great and good.

Genesis 1:27 shows us we are set apart from all of God’s creatures, we alone bear his image.

This tells us our identity and who we are as humans. We are image bearers with a basic likeness to God. We are relational beings, we are rational, emotional persons with volition. We are God’s representatives on earth.

This is the central truth about us. We are image bearers of the eternal God. This gives us worth, dignity, and value. We matter. We matter not because of our achievements, money, or looks, but simply because we bear God’s image. If you are a human being, then this is the truth about you: you matter. No matter what you have achieved. No matter what you look like or how much money you have. No matter how you have failed or how much you have struggled, you have worth, dignity, and value simply because you bear the image of the immortal God. Nothing can change that.

If the first two lines of Genesis 1:27 emphasize our identity as image bearers, the third line reveals our sexuality. We are sexual beings. God did not create neutered human beings. He made us male or female, man or woman. Sexuality goes far deeper than our physical aspects. It’s far more than plumbing. Males and females not only have differently shaped bodies, we have differently shaped souls. Indeed, gender is the only fundamental distinction among humans. Other distinctions, such as ethnicity, language, race, economic status, or nationality don’t really matter. They are superficial distinctions. But gender, this matters. We see this when a baby is born. Our first question is, “Is it a boy or a girl?” For some reason, gender matters to us in so many ways. This is who you are.

You are an image bearer of God, either male or female. You matter. To the God of the universe, the God who made you, the God who cares about you, you matter incredibly.