A Walk In The Garden (Week 5)

The Days Of Creation

Genesis 1:26–31 (ESV)

Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

During the second world war, German paratroopers invaded the island of Crete. When they landed at Maleme, They were met by islanders bearing nothing other than kitchen knives and hay scythes. But the consequences of resistance were devastating. The residents of entire villages were lined up and shot.

Overlooking the airstrip today is an institute for peace and understanding founded by a Greek man named Alexander Papaderous. Papaderous had lived through the war and was convinced his people needed to let fo of the legacy of hatred the war had unleashed and so he founded his institute at this place that embodied the horrors and hatreds unleashed by the war. One day while taking questions at the end of lecture Papaderous was asked, “What is the meaning of life?” There was nervous laughter in the room. It is such a big question. But Papaderous answered it.

He opened his wallet and took out a small, round mirror and held it up for everyone to see. He told how as a small boy from a very poor family he came across a motorcycle wreck. It was during the war and the motorcycle had belonged to German soldiers. Alexander saw pieces of broken mirror from the motorcycle lying on the ground. He tried to put them together byt couldn’t, so he took the largest piece and scratched it against a stone until its edges were smooth and it was round. He used it as a toy, fascinated by the way he could use it to shine light into holes and crevices.

He kept that mirror with him as he grew up, and over time it came to symbolise something very improtant. It become a metaphor for what he might do with his life.

I am a fragment of a mirror whose whole design and shape i do not know. Nevertheless, with what i have i can reflect light into the dark places of this world-into the black places in the hearts of men-and change some things in some people. Perhaps others may see and do likewise. This is what i am about. This is the meaning of my life.

Source: reported in Robert Fulgham, It was on fire when i laid on it

As we look at the final day of God’s creative act, there are some things that we will focus on. We won’t get through all of these in one Sunday; but, it is very important that we take our time and let Him speak to each of us individually about what this means in our lives. The five things we will focus on in this passage are: Man is the image bearer of God. Man is given dominion. Man is a blessed creation. Man is provided for. God said that it is very good. This morning will serve as an introduction to these ideas and we will unpack these 5 statements in the following sermons.

Here again we see the intra-trinity dialogue as God the Father confers with Son and Spirit. This seemingly little thing gains importance if we can understand that we, as humans, were created as the image bearers for the one true God. So, what does it mean to be created in the image and likeness of God? We are not Gods but we are God-like. We are to reflect God to the world and also to reflect the praise of humanity back to God.

N.T. Wright likens it to an angled mirror. If you thing about a mirror, you probably think aabout looking straight into it to see your reflection. If you remember the character Fonzi from the tv show “Happy Days”, you know that he was continually checking himself out in the mirror. But what happens when you change the angle of the mirror before looking into it? Rev. Wright tells the story of his mother placing a mirror in the doorway of his bedroom when he was a sick boy. He could see his mother and other family members but she could also look into the same mirror and see him. As God pours out His love on us, we reflect that love outward to the rest of humanity. When we praise God, we are reflecting back to Him for the entirety of humanity. This distinction is given to man-meaning mankind-alone. With the other creative acts, the more impersonal phrase “let there be” is used. It’s as though everything has gone into slow motion here on the sixth day of creation when compared to the previous five days. God spoke “let there be” and there was; but, here He contemplates the creation of humanity. This implies that He put more thought into you than He did the animals. You are a special creation made for a specific purpose. Listen to these words found in the 29th chapter of the book of Jeremiah, “ For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Another interesting fact is according to vs. 27, He created both male and female in His image. Male and female were both created to bear the image of God. This elevates women to the same level as men. This gives women the same value in God’s eyes. We were created to bear His image to the world, together. Both male and female bear this image alone; but together comprise the complete complement of humanity.

I want to close this morning leaving you with six things to think about over the week.

1) You are creative because He is creative.

2) You are spiritual because He is a spirit.

3) You communicates because He communicates.

4) You are intelligent because He is intelligent.

5) You are relational because He is relational.

6) You are morally responsible because He is a moral being.

God has put His image and likeness into each of us. There is no question about that. The only question is “Am I reflecting the love of God to the world?”

Hear 1 Corinthians 13:1-7.