Image by Cailin Valente
On day one God created light, and separated it from darkness. We don’t know where the light was coming from, but now we get to day four and we read that He created the stars
“for signs and for seasons, for days and for years” Genesis 1:14
This part made me stop in my tracks.
For signs and for seasons, for days and for years. For SIGNS! Like the sign in the sky the shepherds and magi followed to get to Bethlehem when Christ was born. Goosebumps. God is the ultimate Type-A planner, knowing exactly what He needed to put together for us. Think of how many shepherds, sailors, and countless other humans use(d) the stars as guides through the night! He did that FOR US! How cool is that!? It’s hard to ignore His love when we see SUCH clear examples of His brilliant omniscience. He saw it was good, and that was the end of day four.
On day five, which corresponds to day two, we get the fish of the sea (created on day 2) and the birds of the air (also day two). God saw it was good, and told them to be fruitful and multiply. Pretty straightforward, and I think this settles the “What came first, the chicken or the egg,” question.
On day six, corresponding to day three, we get cattle and creeping things (though, personally, I could do with less creeping things—spiders and snakes, yuck!) and beasts of the earth. He also created man in His own image. Male and female, He created them, and giving them a twofold command: told them to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it. This is where God gives man dominion over the Earth, telling us that we are above the birds of the sky and also the creepy crawlies on the Earth. Again, God looks at His work, and sees that it is good.
We keep getting little snippets of
“and He saw it was good”
and the Catechism of the Catholic Church says,
“Scripture and Tradition never cease to teach and celebrate this fundamental truth: "The world was made for the glory of God,’…”CCC293
God is creating the world, and pouring out His glory into it. He is looking back at His creation, taking a second to admire it, and to convey that in the beautiful world He created for us, we get a glimpse of His glory and his love for us.
Let’s take a moment to reflect and ponder on what we can do better next year, so at the end of the next year we can look back and see that it was good.
As we close out this year, let us thank God for His wonderful works, and pray for a happy and healthy new year. Talk to you next year, sweet sisters!!
Study Questions
How can you try, as we inch closer and closer to the end of this year and the beginning of the next, to promise yourself and the Lord to work on your best effort?
Let’s start to look back on the year: where did you falter?
Where did you let yourself put forth less than “good” work?
