Last week I finished reading through the book of Genesis. Genesis is the first book of the Bible. It has been called “the book of beginnings,” because it describes the beginning of Creation, humankind, sin, salvation, Israel, and many other important themes woven throughout Scripture.¹ Here are my three main takeaways from this read through Genesis.

1. God created us to live by faith. When God created Adam and Eve, He gave very few instructions, one clear boundary, and one warning about violating that boundary. God did not dictate Adam and Eve’s every thought and action. Instead, God invited them to trust Him with their lives. And when they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they chose to trust their own feelings instead of God, and thus rebelled against their Creator (Genesis 3:6).

The theme of faith is woven throughout the tapestry of Genesis. Abel offered a sacrifice by faith, Noah built the ark, Abraham left his homeland, Sarah conceived at an advanced age and gave birth to Isaac, Jacob blessed Joseph’s sons, and Joseph prophesied Israel’s return from Egypt (Heb 11:4–22). God gave only a few clear instructions to the Patriarchs while inviting them to trust Him with their lives and livelihoods.

We all live daily by faith in many ways. We go to bed believing we will wake the next day and the sun will rise in the morning. We wake in the morning believing our senses accurately depict the world. We get into a vehicle believing it will start, run properly, and other drivers will drive competently. We work believing our employers and clients will compensate us for our labor.

It’s not a matter of if we live by faith, but who or what we put our faith in. But is anyone or anything truly deserving of our faith? People frequently let us down. We let them down, too. And nothing in Creation is self-sustaining—every physical thing will eventually break down or wear out.

But there is One who transcends Creation, whose character is unchanging and existence spans eternity. Scripture tells us that our triune God upholds and sustains all things through Jesus Christ the Son (Colossians 1:15–17). And God created us to pursue a life of actively trusting our moments, circumstances, and eternity to Him.

The application of this idea is twofold: 1. Have I trusted Jesus to save me from my sin and give me eternal life with Him? 2. If so, am I looking daily to Jesus as Lord of my life? If the answer to either of those questions is no, then ask yourself, why not? If the answer to both questions is yes, receive and live in the fullness of joy that comes from an ongoing relationship with Jesus (John 15:1–11)!

2. God created us to thrive in relationship. In Genesis 2:18–25, God paraded the animals in front of Adam. Adam named the animals and discovered none of the animals were like him. Adam was alone, and his solitude was the first detail of Creation that God said was “not good” (v. 18). So, after Adam understood his solitude, God caused him to sleep and created the woman, Eve, as a suitable companion to Him.

It is significant that God made Eve from Adam’s side. He didn’t make Eve from Adam’s head, to rule over him. And God didn’t make Eve from Adam’s feet, to be ruled by him. God designed men and women to live as complementary equals in God-honoring, lifelong unions (Matthew 19:1–12). And from these unions God intended for Adam and Eve, though the act of procreation, to fill the world with people living in gracious, loving relationships with one another (Genesis 1:28; Romans 12:19–21).

Relationships are hard work. For one, our sinfulness compels us to put our own wants above the needs of others. Second and related, our sinfulness compels us to demand from others what God hasn’t provided or empowered them to give. And how quickly we abuse or neglect others when they don’t serve our every wish! Sadly, I have seen these sinful patterns plague marriages and the church just as much as secular workplaces and the world.

How do we apply this truth in a sinful world? Three ideas come to mind: 1. Acknowledge that God created us to live in relationship with Himself and others. 2. Acknowledge God’s design for each of those relationships—faith-filled devotion toward God and gracious love toward others. 3. Pray and study the Bible asking God to give you wisdom to live out God’s design in your own relationships with Him and others.

3. God created us to care for Creation. When God created humankind, He created us in ways that made us unique among all living creatures. First, He made us in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26a). Second, He gave us dominion over all the other living creatures (Genesis 1:26b). Third, He instructed us to exercise that dominion by cultivating the earth so the plants produce food (Genesis 1:29–30; 2:15).

What does this teach us about God’s design for humankind? Of all the living creatures, humans alone are image-bearers of God. Biologically, we might fit a specific category of the animal kingdom, but God has made us uniquely different from all other living creatures for a purpose. These differences—including consciousness, and morality, and spirituality—enable us to exercise authority over Creation while also making us accountable to God for how we use that authority.

Creation is a gift from God teeming with life and resources. God has empowered us to shepherd those lives and cultivate those resources for His glory and for the good of all living creatures. He will hold us accountable to that. When we abuse and neglect living creatures, and waste and destroy the earth, we are sinning against God and His Creation.

Application of this idea can be very challenging. Here are two questions that will help develop a godly mindset toward Creation: 1. Is this action honoring to God, Creation, other people, and myself? 2. Do I expect this action to result in longterm harm to Creation, other people, or myself? If the answer to either of those questions is yes, then there is a good reason to pause and prayerfully consider if the action is truly aligned with God’s good purposes for the world and our lives.

Closing. In Genesis, God introduces us to His design for Creation, how that design went off-track, and how we can rediscover God’s design in our own lives. God’s design for humankind is woven throughout Genesis: God created us to live by faith, to thrive in relationship, and to care for Creation. Do you want to discover God’s design for your own life? I encourage you to begin by trusting Him with your eternity and in your daily life, seeking out gracious, loving relationships that point you toward Jesus, and adopting a God-honoring mindset toward Creation and others.

Notes

1. Allen P. Ross, “Genesis,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures: Old Testament, ed. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 15. Logos Bible Software.