So I started this alignment project where most of us start I guess: the beginning. So what are the ways in which we can live aligned with this understanding that God created the heavens and the earth and saw that it was good? What are the many, many ways this plays out?

I’m not sure in some ways this is the best place to start simply because the number of ways this plays seems, well, as vast as the universe. Here are four ways that occurred to me.

An appreciation for science

It seems that for some (especially in America) religion & science are in conflict. I don’t think anything could be further from the truth. The first chapter of Genesis should lead us towards a great appreciation for the sciences of: cosmology, physics, chemistry, biology, geology, zoology, meteorology, astronomy for starters. Seeds and stars, plants and planets, these are all worthy of study, investigation and appreciation.

I shouldn’t be defensive about this, and I don’t want my kids to be either. I’m not sure the most important thing I can teach my kids from this is to defend a particular reading but instead to open it up and say, let’s marvel. Let’s be joyously appreciative and curious about creation.

An enjoyment of nature

This might not be an intellectual quest at all. It could simply be watching and listening to a David Attenborough documentary or it could be taking photos, or walking in a forest and swimming in a river. I think, for those that have pets, with some caveats, this is a way people almost intuitively live this out. I know people who really love their cats and dogs.

An understanding of food

We gotta eat right? But what do we eat and where does our food come from. City dwellers have never been more disconnected from the source of food but also how incredible is the abundance of this planet?

A concern for the environment

I think that’s a natural outworking of the first one, isn’t it? Humans were not the only ones to receive a blessing to multiply (Gen 1:22). So that leads me to think about places where human activity has had a negative impact: overfishing, deforestation, biodiversity loss would, it seems to me, all be legitimate issues to be concerned about. The connection between animals and coronavirus in humans, for example, is something to give us pause for thought.

The oceans should be teeming and sometimes they’re not because of people. Of course, climate change cannot be ignored. If it’s not an emergency now, when would we call it that? So we should think about whether our way of life is sustainable and how much it is contributing to making things worse!

Those are four attitudes or thoughts that occur to me from just reading the first chapter of Genesis. Have a read yourself and let me know what I’ve missed.