These Two Things

by Billy Williams
Genesis 1:1,2 (MSG)

First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don't see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God's Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.

I love this verse, I always have. I love the way it is written -- no explanation of where God came from, no long dissertation on existence, just this: God created the heavens and the earth, period. A few months ago I heard a new take on this verse. The lead singer from Switchfoot posed this question to an interviewer: “What is the very first thing we know about God? Is it that He is holy? Is it that He is just and merciful or that He is all powerful? No, the first thing we know about God is that He is creative. “First this: God created...” I love that! The second thing we learn is that God is a protector. God’s Spirit brooded (verb; 2 To protect (young) by or as if by covering with the wings) like a bird above the watery abyss.

Here in the first three sentences of God’s Word His deep character is revealed as our loving, protecting Creator. And I, created in His image, have these attributes breathed into me, to create and to protect, or brood over, the things that God cares for.

Father, let me be always reminded of Your wonderful creativity. Let me see You in the simple and the complex of my day. Remind me that You are protective of me as Your creation and You still brood over the entire of creation.