By the word of God were the heavens made, the starry host by the breath of God’s mouth. (Psalm 33: 6)

Almost every ancient culture had some kind of “creation story” that described how the earth and humankind came to be. There seems to be basic human need to account for the fact that we are here and had to come from someplace. Because most creation accounts in early civilizations were basically myths, there is a tendency among some to view the creation account in the Book of Genesis as just one more myth of an ancient people attempting to explain their origins.

When the account of creation in Holy Scripture is compared to the myths of other civilizations, there is a distinct difference. For example, the creation myth of the Chinese story of P‘an Ku is typical. The universe is said to have been formed from the body of the first human. When he died, his eyes became the sun and the moon and his hair became the trees and plants.

In contrast to this, the biblical account is laced with dignity and simplicity—a God of love creating beauty and life. While it is true that the bible does not give scientific details of the creation, it does contain logical order and a God of love in control. It tells the essential—“God said” and everything was done. And it was good.

God of power and might, may we see You in the mirror of a world that came to be simply because, “You said…”