See Him

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1 NIV)

There's no better life than when we are walking together with God.  Walking toward God's picture for your life is walking toward your best possible life here as well as walking toward an eternity that's even better.  Perhaps that's because God designed and created everything (and everyone) seen and unseen.  Who knows better, then, how to get the most out of life?  Only God knows.

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day. (Genesis 1:2-5 NIV)

Moses is attributed with the writing down of the creation story.  We don't know how long the story was passed down orally from generation to generation.  By the time he wrote it down, though, Egypt had developed belief systems about how everything came into being.  They had a complex system with many "gods."  Shu, for example, was the god of light and air (like the atmosphere).  Shu marked the separation between light and darkness, day and night.

And God said, "Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water." So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day. (Genesis 1:6-8 NIV)

Nut was the goddess of the sky or heavens.  She is often depicted as a woman holding her body up in an arch with her hands and feet touching the ground.  The stars are actually a part of her body.

And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the third day. (Genesis 1:9-13 NIV)

There are many fertility gods in ancient Egypt, but probably the most well-known today would be Osiris.  Osiris could make or break the growing season for your crops this year.  You definitely wanted this god on your side.

And God said, "Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day. (Genesis 1:14-19 NIV)

Khonsu was considered the god of the moon and measurement of time.  By now I'm guessing you get the idea.  Moses is writing in a time when people believe in many, many gods and goddesses.  The interaction of these deities would challenge the script writers of any soap opera today.  Not only that, the creation of the heavens and the earth is more of an accidental byproduct of their shenanigans rather than the purposeful act of anyone.

And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky." So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." And there was evening, and there was morning--the fifth day. (Genesis 1:20-23 NIV)

Moses preserves this creation story because it shows us a completely different picture.  The heavens and the earth were not an accident.  They were purposefully put in place.  There aren't a whole bunch of ridiculous gods arguing and fighting up there and ignoring us.  There is only one God.  That God pays close attention to us.  That God cares about every detail about us.  That God loves us.  That God wants what is best for us.  That God showers us with good gifts and entreats us to stay with Him.  That is the One, the only true God.

And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day. (Genesis 1:24-31 NIV)

We cannot begin to walk together with God if we cannot see God.  We may not have soap-opera deities vying for our attention today, but we have plenty of gods asking for our loyalty.  We don't revere the gods of Shu, Nut, and Osiris, but we certainly swear allegiance to science, choice, and privacy.  We don't sacrifice to fertility gods, per-se, but we certainly don't trust the Designer of fertility to guide our way.

God's design is beautiful.  God's ways are the best ways.  God's picture for our lives is perfect.  We need to see that.  We need to see God.  Only then can we start walking toward that picture and enjoying the blessings that come with it.

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. (Genesis 2:1-3 NIV)

Think about this for a minute.  You were probably too busy with important things to rest this past weekend.  You may have had too much going on to take time to gather together with other people and just give your focus to God.  Did your week go any better because you took the time to work or do the other important tasks on your list?  When we walk together with God, we pause each week with God to regain perspective.  We rest.  Do you feel rested?  This is just one of many ways we can see Him in our lives.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth. (Psalms 19:1-6 NIV)

How about you?  Do you look at creation and think of God?  Do you see Him?