Who am I? Where do I come from? Why am I here? These are questions that all of us need to answer at some point. We sometimes search for answers to these questions on an individual level. We quiz our parents and grandparents about our past. We do genealogical research to find out where we are from. We read books about the lands from which our forebearers emigrated. But questions like who am I and where do I come from can't just be answered individually. They have to be answered corporately as well. As a human race, we have to wrestle with the broad question of who are we as humans? Where do we come from? Why are we here?
Genesis is an ancient text that wrestles with such questions. It does not always do so with the clarity that we (post)moderns would like. There is a tendency among us to come to Genesis searching for answers to scientific questions about human origins. Those answers may not be found as readily as we would like (despite the insistence by some that those answers are clearly there). The opening chapters are not scientific texts. The questions that an Israelite wandering in the wilderness would have asked of Moses are not our own. Yet, Genesis has some very important answers to the questions that we opened with.
Who are we? We are humans created male and female by an Almighty God in His own image. Thus, we are extremely valuable. Our worth comes not from some innate perception of ourselves but rather the fact that we are God's handiwork made to reflect Him.
Where do we come from? We come from a paradise given to us by God. But we have fallen ancestors whose sin and disobedience put all of us in a tough spot where we also sin and fail to obey. Our sin creates a difficult situation in this world. Life is painful and hard. Paradise is lost for now. But in God, there is hope of redemption as God works even in the midst of evil to bring people back to Him.
Why are we here? We are to be agents of God's will and work in this world. We are to carry about His purposes. We are also here to enjoy one another in community, according to the rules and commands that God provided.
Time doesn't allow more to be said nor do I really have the space to identify how each of these ideas is found in the opening chapters of Genesis 4. I hope that the origin of most of these ideas is obvious. The key is that Genesis 1 and beyond is not just about science. It also address our fundamental understanding of ourselves. Without this fundamental understanding, it is hard to grasp or accept anything that follows in the Scriptures. It is also hard to find the type of life that we want to have in God's creation.
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