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Earlier this year I was involved in a lot of ministry in and from the book of Genesis. It is an incredible book and has so much to say to our world today. As well as revealing much of the glory and promises of the Lord it also contains some wonderful stories rich with much to challenge and comfort us in.
However, it is true that Genesis has been the source of much controversy down through the years. There are parts of Genesis that are seen as unlikely and therefore hard to believe. In no particular order here are some of the things that people have seen as unlikely (and therefore difficult to believe)…
And much, much more.
But I have to say that none of those things are what I find most difficult to believe. If we acknowledge a powerful God able to create and sustain and redeem then most of those things fall pretty easily under His sovereign hand. They might be unusual, they might be unexpected, but a God who is all powerful can (and has) done them.
No, the thing I find most difficult to believe in Genesis is this, that the God who can do all this and is worthy of everything continues to persevere with people who are so selfish, so slow and so sinful. The thing I find so difficult to believe in Genesis is…
the amazing grace of God.
When you read through Genesis it is not the story of great Old Testament heroes who did incredible things for God. No, it is the story of a great God who perseveres with and works with and works through real people of mixed (to say the least) motives and actions. From Adam and Eve to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all display significant defects, stunning mistakes and patterns of failure. Genesis is not a book about super, spiritual, wonderful, sinless people who God was lucky to have on His side. Genesis is about people like you and me, flawed and sinful, who make mistakes and let God down in different ways. The good news is we can be confident that Genesis is not a hagiography treating its main human characters with undue reverence and positivity! But it means that it is hard to believe that the Lord would not just give up on us.
It may be difficult to believe but isn’t it wonderful? The same God who in His grace loved those in Genesis loves you and I. The same grace that saw the Lord make promises and persevere with those in Genesis was at work in Jesus emptying himself of his glory to death even death on a cross so that we might be the very children of God. Genesis reminds us that we have a God of amazing grace and I’m so thankful that we do.
Bishop Jay Behan
Church of Confessing Anglicans, New Zealand
