The gospel in Genesis

I've been thinking about the gospel in Genesis; it's all over the place, not just in the Gospels with a capital "G," not just in Romans or Galatians or the rest of the New Testament. Even the first pages of the Bible point to the gospel.

The opening verses describe the world as "formless and empty" and covered in darkness. And the Spirit of God is there, "hovering" over the waters and the darkness. God transforms the chaos into order, into something good.

Throughout the Bible the image of the sea is an image of menace and death. There's a reason that in Revelation 21, where the new heaven and new earth are described, there is no longer any sea--sin, evil, and death have been completely defeated.

Do you see how the Bible opens with a threatening picture? It's all darkness, the menacing deep, and chaos. And God is there. The Spirit of God is moving over the chaotic scene, hovering, brooding. And then: "Let there be light."

And so the gospel begins: our God is a God of transformation. Transforming darkness into light.

Transforming darkness. The gospel isn't for good people; it's for people in darkness. Skipping ahead to Isaiah for a moment: "the people walking in darkness have seen a great light..." The gospel isn't for nice people, refined people, people who have their act together and just need a little spirituality on their resume. It's for people in darkness.

Picture the Spirit of God hovering over the city: over the misdirected lives, the broken lives, the not-at-all-nice lives. Over the rebels, the abusers, the addicted, the cruel. And God says, "Let there be light." How does this light come to the people in darkness? Through God's people. It wasn't for nothing that Jesus said, "You are the light of the world."

I'm praying for light in Helena, praying for God's light to come through our new church. People need the gospel. I invite you to pray with me... and to walk in the light.