Form Out of the Formless

"In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep" (Geneses 1:1-2, NRSV)

These are the ominous words that begin the Bible. The words "formless", "void", "darkness", and "deep" all signify where we come from in the mind of the writer(s) of Genesis. The earth and the life it contains do not come to us as a sort of pre-fab, manufactured planet, but rather as formlessness taking form, darkness learning to embody light. The contrast between these images can be stark, but we should never overlook the fact that the contrast is significant.

Part of God's work in the creative moment is making something out of nothing, forming the world out of formlessness, and establishing the cosmos where there previously was a void. If you ever feel like you are in a void, a moment of formlessness and darkness, take heart. For it is out of such moments things that God created the universe. If God can create all this is from nothing, imagine how much more He can do with you.

In Christ,
Pastor Seth