Creation! Are we asking the wrong question?

The Book of Genesis tells us God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. How this is interpreted has become a touchstone of controversy in recent years, many defending the "One day is 24 hours" version with passion and conviction. That's a good thing...but it should never be a point of division nor an indicator of faithfulness. As Justin Taylor pointed out so well a few days ago, there are a lot of excellent and well-respected people that take another position on what seems to have become a hallowed interpretation of a very difficult passage of Scripture and a point of separation for many. 

I've spent a good deal of time struggling with this same issue. I must confess, I fall to the side of "a day is a day" fairly strongly. Lately, though, I've found myself wondering if this is the primary message God wants us to hear from the opening

paragraphs of His self-revelation to His creation. 

Or is He showing us something more profound than a calendar of days and minutes about Himself?

If we set aside the debate over how to measure time to consider what God is saying about His character and nature, the first two chapters of Genesis become an introduction to who God is and what He intends to do with His creation: Look at what we learn;  

• He is the creator Gen 1:1
• He is the filler, filling every square inch of the "void" with His creation. Gen 1:2-25
• He is the One who forms man (Gen 1:26), filling Him with life and breath (Gen 2:7)
• He is the One who provides, giving man meaning and purpose (Gen 1:28-31)

 Notice, none of these things are contingent on whether or not a day is a day or a thousand years (another grossly misunderstood and over-emphasized passage). Each of the items above are a description of who God is and His command over His creation, a much more fitting introduction to His written, inspired word than how man has chosen to measure a day.

Perhaps we should be more careful in choosing our major issues. We can miss the deep, rich teaching the Scriptures are designed to show us by getting bogged down in minor details.  

In my opinion, all this is borne out by the end of the Bible, Rev 22, which seems to reiterate the beginning.  There we see Jesus Christ, His plan perfectly complete in all respects. What was that plan? Man has been created for God's glory. He has been formed and given his purpose for His glory (Rev 22:14-16), the revelation of His righteousness. Ultimately, those who believe will be filled with His living water (Rev 22:17), a transformation putting on display and giving testimony to His power and authority over His creation.

Genesis and Revelation, a fitting introduction and epilogue, beautiful bookends to God's self-revelation and the record of His redemptive plan in history. 

All this, and neither a calendar nor stopwatch in sight, at least not in the text!