One of the age-old questions pondered by every generation is, “From where did we come?” Scientists, anthropologists, and many other “-ists” have researched and researched and researched and still have failed to reach a clear answer that can be understood as truth rather than theory. The problem is that those conducting the research often fail to bring the Bible into the equation – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1, NKJV).
Understanding God as our Creator requires one to first and foremost accept the Bible as authoritative. If one does not believe the Bible to be true, he or she will not accept what the Bible has to say about creation. There are, however, certain Bible passages that might help to convince skeptics that what the Bible says concerning our origins is true. For example, the Bible speaks of the vast nature of space and the reality of gravity to hold the earth in place (Job 26:7), the depths of the ocean and the springs found within the seas (Job 38:16), barometric pressure (Job 28:25), ocean currents (Psa. 8:8), etc. We understand all of these to be scientific facts today, yet at one point or another they all have been debated or seemingly “undiscovered.” Long before science accepted it as truth, the Bible – God’s word (2 Tim. 3:16) – recognized it as true.
When we come to recognize the truth of God’s word, we will see that what the Bible says concerning creation is true. As “God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1), He did so in six 24-hour days (cf. Gen. 1:1-2:3; Ex. 20:11). We know that as God created the earth, He did so by the power of His word; God spoke and this world and all within it was created (Gen. 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26; Psa. 33:6-9; Heb. 11:3).
Understanding where we come from ought to be more than a satisfied curiosity. Knowing our origin ought to motivate us to live up to our potential. God created us in His image (Gen. 1:26). God created us that we might live to glorify Him (Isa. 43:7). God created us so that we might be “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:10). If we know that God created us so that we might live for Him, why would we not choose to live each day He blesses us with for Him?
By Preston McElyea (January 8, 2023)