What Did You Do This Week?

Genesis 1:1-2:4a

Often I find myself very busy with all the things I have to do in a week. I have to go to work, clean the house, and maintain the yard. There are meetings, appointments, and errands as well. The list seems to never end, and yet I honestly have to say that very little of what I do is for others. I clean the house because I want a clean house. I maintain my yard because I want it to look good. I go to work and meetings because that's what I'm expected to do. It's rare that during a normal week I will do more than a few things solely for another person.

When I look at the creation story as told in Genesis 1, I get a sense that God created so that all of creation might enjoy it. God created the sky for the birds, God created the waters for the fish, and God created land for the rest of us. God even created the sun and moon in order for the different lights of the world to have something.

So, what did God create for God?

The way I understand it, is that God created rest for God. That's really all God wanted, a little rest after giving of God's self for an entire week. I think I would be tired as well if I gave 100% of myself to everything and everyone around me for an entire week. The lesson here, though, is not that we should find rest for ourselves after a long week of being busy. The thing we should take away from today's passage is that if "God created humanity in God’s own image, in the divine image God created them, male and female God created them," then to be in that image is to give everything we can to the betterment of God's creation.

God's request that we "take charge of the fish of the sea, the birds in the sky, and everything crawling on the ground" comes with a large responsibility. God has appointed us to be the caretakers of all God created. That's a lot of work. However, I think that if we find a way to work together we can live up to God's expectation.

I do know one thing for absolute certain: after a week of doing everything I can for those around me and for the creation in which I live, I'm going to need a nap.