In Genesis 1:1–25, we find the narrative of God creating the world. Three words in particular help us see the deeper meaning of this passage: order, goodness, and hope.

Order

God created the world in a rational sequence. Rather than being haphazard or unpredictable, it is very methodical and structured. There are no mistakes; God is in complete control.

The orderliness of this account denies the other belief systems of that day. It is also what makes science possible. God’s rational mind created a world in which things are constant, reliable, and comprehensible.

Goodness

One phrase that keeps coming up in the creation narrative is, “God saw that it was good.” By the time He’s finished, it has become very good. It is teeming with life, and God wants it to be filled with even more life, so He tells His creatures to multiply. He is a God of abundant life and creativity.

Because of creation’s goodness, we must avoid two things. First, we must never worship creation. It’s easy to see the wonder and majesty of the world and be tempted to praise it, but Romans 1:25 condemns this. Second, we must never demean creation. Although the world has been frustrated by sin, it is still good. It is right for us to respond in thankfulness to God for what He made.

Hope

In the Bible, we see God enjoying His creation and creation enjoying its God, and it can feel like we are on the outside of that. We don’t want to merely see the beauty of creation; we want to be united with it. We realize something is going on that we can’t fully participate in. This is because something is not right with our relationship with God. It’s hard to fully enjoy something when you’re separated from the person it comes from.

Genesis 1 helps us find hope. Each account of an individual day ends with the words “evening and morning.” Today, we think of days as both beginning and ending in the middle of the night — in darkness. But in the Bible, sundown marks the beginning of the day so that every day is a story of light triumphing over darkness.

A clear sign of hope comes on day three, when the earth brings forth plants yielding seeds. These are the literal first fruits of creation. Something is coming out of the earth that has new life within it. 1 Corinthians 15 also speaks of the third day, when out of the earth comes One with new life in Him. Jesus is described as the first fruits of a new creation. Just as the literal seeds emerge in the same form as the thing that bore them, so we look more like Christ as we come to Him and abide in Him.

This is why we can gaze on this creation not only with aching and longing but also with hope. We know that one day we will be completely right with God in a renewed creation.