Canyon Ministries
[Originally published as NEXT UP: Origins Are Foundational To Life]
We live in a broken world. We see the evidence of it everywhere we look. There are many questions.
- What broke it?
- Can it be repaired?
- If it can, how?
- Why am I here?
- How did I get here?
- What is my purpose?
- What happens when my life is over?
- Is this all there is?
- Is there such a thing as truth?
- If there is, how can we know it?
- What is right and what is wrong?
- Who gets to decide what is right and wrong?
These are the foundational questions of our existence, demanding our consideration, and begging for answers.
God addresses these questions at the very beginning of His written word to us. Genesis 1-11 provides the answer to everything we experience in life today. In this creation account, we see our origins (where we came from and why we are here), our intended relationship with God and each other, and the establishment (and definition) of marriage and family.
The account of the fall of man tells us why the world is broken. It explains the presence of broken relationships, evil, disease, and struggle.
This account also reveals our hope through the work of the Son to defeat our enemy and give us victory over the curse of sin and death. The flood account of Noah’s time explains the topography of our earth today. It provides an understanding of climate zones and weather patterns. The Tower of Babel informs us about how one race of people became many people groups and cultures.
If we allow people to “re-interpret” Genesis, then we allow the definition of family and sin, the need for a savior, and where we go when we die to be “re-interpreted” as well. When we disconnect ourselves from the beginning, we lose our foundation and wander from the truth.
This is exactly why God came to us as a man. As Jesus stood before Pilate in John 18:37 (ESV), Jesus says,
For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world – to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is on the side of truth listens to my voice.
Jesus came to remind us of the truth established in the beginning.
~Jon Albert
