S108P4 – Creation story: signs in the skies

Gen. 1:14-15

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.

I have found myself talking about time quite a bit recently.  The other day, I was deep in my work and not realizing how late it was getting, and I commented to a colleague that time had gotten away from me.  Then, I was speaking to a much younger person and telling him about the phenomenon of time appearing to move quicker as we grow older.  Even now as I write this, the evening is wearing on, and I am still that little child who hates to see the day end.  There are aspects of this thing we call time that drive us crazy and make us want to be able to control it, but it was not designed to frustrate us.  It was designed to guide us. 

God was very linear and organized in the way He laid out creation.  I have reviewed these verses countless times, but I cannot say that I previously had put much thought into what they really mean.  When God created time, He did not do so simply for the fun of it.  There was a purpose behind it.  These alternating heavenly lights would mark the coming and going of each day, and those days would amount to seasons and years.  These lights also would be signs, which means that they convey messages to us.  The sky can guide a navigator across the oceans and around the globe just by how these lights are organized.  Whether in navigation or in the counting of our days, the lights that mark the passing of time serve as a way of God guiding us through this life. 

I am sure that I will look at the skies much differently from now on.  We can get used to seeing the sun every day, and even though we do miss it when the skies are cloudy, we also can take it for granted because it is such a regular and expected part of life.  The same can be said about the moon and the stars, but there is so much beauty and purpose to all of these lights that we often forget.  While time still exists, while we have the sun and moon and stars, let us consider the reason our Father created them and appreciate their splendor and the way they serve us.  Father, thank You for these heavenly bodies, for their guidance in this life, and for the beauty the carry.