Rooting Our Children in Genesis
August 10, 2011
As Christian parents, educators and mentors, we want our children to hear the gospel message, understand the meaning of the cross and be transformed by the truths in its proclamation, but as leaders of this upcoming generation, we have failed mightily to root this message in genuine history of the world as found in the early chapters of Genesis.
We have turned our noses up at the book of Genesis because we now see history in the context of mainstream science. In the process, many Christians now believe the earth is 4.6 billion years old, the Big Bang is a legitimate theory to our origin and dinosaurs are some great mysterious beasts from prehistoric times. We don’t want to see ourselves as being evolved from apes, but we are OK with seeing a world that “just happens” and Mother Nature (whoever she is) being left in charge. The philosophy of evolution has reached far beyond the science classroom into the entertainment world; it's claws are set deep into the hearts and minds of our children. A flippant denial of evolution only hides the fact that we are all evolutionists in our fleshly nature. We push back from the early chapters of Genesis because it reveals the authority of a sovereign Creator and the utter depravity of humanity.
Genesis is not some allegorical story giving vague insights and random pieces of somewhat useful information about “generally” how the world began; this book is history right from the very first verse. In the early chapters we discover the bedrock of our faith and the roots of the gospel of Christ. This gospel’s good news is rooted in some very, very bad news that involves you and me! At the fall, Adam, the head of the human race, plunge all of humanity into darkness, depravity and a level of separation that no man’s effort can ever restore. At its core, rebellion is idolatry. To rebel against our maker is an attempt to set ourselves against our maker and seek that which we were never created to have; the status of God. Genesis, in plain historic terms, gives us a glimpse of this rebellion in a way that is clear.
Jesus, in dying on the cross, did not just bridge the chasm between us and God; He choose us, saved us, showed us the way, declared us innocent of wrong doing and set our feet upon the path of righteousness. Jesus, our propitiation, satisfied the demands of God’s wrath in His finished work on the cross.
In teaching about Genesis, I am not attempting to add a yoke to the things you need to believe in order for salvation to be made whole, but as a foundation that is helpful for sound spiritual footing. Genesis is where parents, teachers and mentors of our children should start in order to clearly articulate the truths of the gospel of Christ. May we all be diligent as we seek to regain a tumbleweed generation.