\u201cSo, David, tell me what you know of the story of creation,\u201d Papa urged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell . . .\u201d David responded. \u201cI know the Bible says that \u2018In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,\u2019 but I\u2019m not really sure if I believe that. I mean, how could that be true? You can\u2019t just create something out of nothing. Everyone knows that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s an interesting observation,\u201d Papa mused. \u201cSo are you telling me you don\u2019t believe the Bible?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh, no!\u201d David exclaimed. \u201cOf course I believe the Bible. I\u2019m just not sure about that one verse.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, if that one verse isn\u2019t true, then the rest of the Bible isn\u2019t either,\u201d Papa replied. \u201cThat verse is the foundation for everything else that follows. Consider Hebrews 11:3: \u2018By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.\u2019 And Colossians 1:16: \u2018For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible . . . all things have been created through Him and for Him.\u2019 Are those verses wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHmmm,\u201d David pondered. \u201cI see what you mean. It takes faith to believe in something that my brain can\u2019t see or even understand. But what about things like time and space and matter? Did they exist before God created the earth?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, let\u2019s think about that. Remember the first verse you quoted to me? \u2018In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah . . . ,\u201d David answered. \u201cWhat about it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, that verse answers your question,\u201d Papa responded. \u201cThink about the words. \u2018In the beginning.\u2019 Doesn\u2019t that imply time? If something has a beginning, there must be more that follows. So that\u2019s a passage of time, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRight. That makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThen it says God created the heavens. Aren\u2019t they spread throughout space?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes!\u201d David exclaimed. \u201cI think I\u2019m starting to understand. And the earth is made of matter, so that\u2019s the third one I was asking about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGreat job, David.\u201d Papa smiled. \u201cAnd think again to that verse in Hebrews I mentioned earlier. The earth was created when God spoke it into being \u2014 and it was made out of things that were not visible. We don\u2019t have to understand how<\/em> God created the heavens and the earth; we just have to believe that He did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n David bounced up and down. \u201cYou know what, Papa? This makes me think of the story of Jeremiah. Remember? God tells Jeremiah that He knew him before he was born \u2014 in fact, even before He formed him in the womb (1:5). And<\/em> God had already decided Jeremiah would be a prophet. Before the world came into existence, God knew it would exist, just as before Jeremiah existed, God knew he would not only exist but be a prophet. I wonder what purpose God has in mind for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cSo, David, tell me what you know of the story of creation,\u201d Papa urged. \u201cWell . . .\u201d David responded. \u201cI know the Bible says that \u2018In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,\u2019 but I\u2019m not really sure if I believe that. I mean, how could that be true? You can\u2019t just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1576,"featured_media":32065,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,2598,2576],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n