The First Day

The big story of the Bible begins with nightfall.

“There was evening, and there was morning, one day (Genesis 1:5b).

It was still dark as New Year’s Eve revelry was winding down on Bourbon Street. You may have heard, “Nothing good happens after midnight.” A large crowd was still celebrating around 3 A.M. when an evil man drove his truck around protective barricades into a crowd of unsuspecting partygoers. At least 15 people were killed. Some died from injuries related to vehicular assault. The assailant jumped out of his truck to gun down the stunned survivors until he was shot and killed. Investigating authorities discovered live bombs and the flag of ISIS in the vehicle, which had been rented in Houston two days earlier. This incident was not a random event. It was inspired. But by who?

The clues and motives authorities are investigating are like the breadcrumbs in the story of Hansel and Gretel, intentionally placed by a cannibalistic witch to lead the siblings to her home and their destruction. Greater security, stronger policing, and other corrective measures address symptoms, not the root cause and effect. The conflict between evil and good, dark and light, death and life, is the major theme of the entire Bible. The first scene in the grand narrative of redemptive history begins in darkness.

The earth was formless and void, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters (Genesis 1:2-4).

God created people to have a relationship with Him. They desire answers to legitimate questions.

• Where did the darkness come from?
• Did God create a chaotic mess that had to be cleaned up?
• If God is light, why is there darkness in God's prelude to his story?
• Is God responsible for what is evil in this world?

Evil is the result of a cosmic conflict over God’s right to rule His Creation. A war between God and some of His heavenly hosts (unseen spiritual beings) shrouded God’s glory in darkness. But the dark is overcome by light. Light ultimately wins every time. The spiritual war in heaven is the background of Genesis 1:2. Once you see this biblical fact, you can never unsee it.  

As its Creator, God stands outside the space and time of His Creation. Time, as we know it, began with a declaration. “Let there be light! Darkness and death do not come from God; they are symptomatic of Satan’s infectious disease. “You can be like God.”

The terrorists in New Orleans and Las Vegas. The Christmas Eve murderer in New Jersey. The October 7 maniacs in Israel. Even Hitler. They all had something in common. They all bought the lie. So what’s to be done?

Rest in what has already been done. Two thousand years ago, Jesus stepped into the darkness and became part of Israel’s story, a story that offers light to the entire world. The perfect One from heaven took on the sin of His broken Creation, offering a way for anyone to step into His Light and out of the darkness of this broken world. Once you see Jesus, the Light of the world, nothing outshines Him.

César Muñoz, a 2022/2023 Fellowship Team member, was discipled using our Bible storytelling strategy. He is now on staff with a church in Hawaii. Watch César tell the Story of Creation at Disciple Daily's Lone Oak Retreat.