You can find this whole story right at the start of the bible, in Genesis chapter 1
The story…
In the very beginning there was only God. There was nothing else. Nothing at all.
But God was full of love.
God wanted to create something special so that he could share his love.
It started very small – but full of potential.
It started with the word ‘LIGHT!’
When God spoke the word,
the universe exploded into being,
there was light everywhere,
and with the light came the possibility of stars and planets and moons…
and life.
As time passed, God divided the sky from the sea, and pulled the land out of the water, so that there could be life in the sea, in the air and on the earth.
As time passed, God made the sun and the moon and all the stars.
God put life in the sea – fishes of every kind – and he put life in the air – birds of every shape and size – and he put life on the land – animals that creep and jump and run and slither.
And God covered the earth with plants and trees and flowers.
Every time God made something new, he looked at it and smiled, because everything was good.
The last thing that God made was human beings – he gave us responsibility to care for the animals and birds and the fish and the land and the oceans and the plants and the trees and the flowers. He made us in his own image, each wonderfully different. And God looked at everything he had made, and he saw that it was very good.
Things to do!
Stop and listen. Listen to the very beginning of Haydn’s ‘Creation’ – there is a version on youtube here. What do you think of Haydn’s version of the very beginning of the universe – he wrote his ‘big bang’ centuries before scientists came up with the idea!
Go and hide somewhere together that is very dark – but take a torch (flashlight) with you. Spend some time in the dark, staying as quiet as you can. Then switch on the torch. Enjoy the gift of light!
Find out about how stars and planets are born here in this great animation.
Find out about a charity that helps the environment, and offer to do some fundraising, or make a donation. If you attend a church, offer to help do a church environmental audit, perhaps using the Eco-congregation resources.
Make a world pom-pom. Use green and blue wool, wrapped round and round a pineapple-ring-shaped piece of card, then cut round the edge, tying a piece of wool tightly around it and carefully removing the card ring, and trimming any loose strands of wool. Hold your pom-pom in your hand, remembering how risky it felt to cut round the pom pom, and imaging yourself as God, creating a world that was wonderful and beautiful, but risky, and full of possibility for going wrong!
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