(I’m making another trip through the Bible this year, this time using “The Daily Message” as my vehicle for the journey.  I won’t be posting every day, but as motivation and time converge I will share some “postcards” from the journey.)

January 1: Genesis 1-2, Psalm 1

It’s such a little word – only two letters.  But “SO” seethes with seeds of purpose.  “So” answers the question that 2-year olds and children of God ask so often: “Why?”

God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them
        reflecting our nature
    So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
        the birds in the air, the cattle,
    And, yes, Earth itself,
        and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.” (Genesis 1:26 – The Message)

Our problem with the first part of Genesis is that we try to make it answer the wrong question.  The writer of Genesis is not really concerned with  “how.”  These first chapters of the Bible are not a geological or biological treatise.  Christians can therefore agree to disagree about the “how” and move on to the primary concern of the author of this majestic account.

Who?

And the answer is simple: In the beginning . . . GOD.

But, as we see in verse 26, “who” is not the only focus.  That little word “so” tells us to pay attention, there is an answer to “why” on the way.

God created people with God-like qualities SO people could take care of the earth.  In the same way that God takes care of us, our purpose is to take care of the world that God has made.  The world, of course, includes each other.

One of the best definitions of “worship” I have ever heard (or maybe I made it up, I’m not sure) is this: Worship is glorifying God by fulfilling our God-given purpose.  We therefore worship God when we are faithful to our “SO.”

I worship God when I take care of that which is not myself.

That’s why I am here.  That’s why you are here.

That’s our “So.”