Embracing Our Genesis Moments
Where is your next beginning?
Genesis is the name of the first book in the Bible. But the word caries meaning beyond the beginning of all creation and the birth of God’s called out people. Genesis means beginning. If we are going to sink deep into following Jesus, our lives must continually have genesis moments. We must have times when we “begin again.” Situations when we see things from a different perspective. Moments when we begin afresh.
We have a tendency to look at life through the lens of what we have lost, instead of what can be gained. We tend to look back instead of looking ahead. Yet the present is alive with genesis possibilities - the birth of new ideas, new directions, new actions. We are also people of habit. We are people who dislike change. We are people who like “things the way they are!” Unless the status quo brings us discomfort. That discomfort, if we realize it, can bring a genesis moment.
Even in our failures, we have genesis opportunities. In the book Culture Care, (to which I am indebted to the overall concept of this article), the author Makoto Fujimura says…
“I have discovered that something is awakened through failure, tragedy, and disappointment. It is a place of learning and potential creativity.”
Failure can be a place of learning and potential creativity. A genesis! Sometimes, our failures are benign. They are not sinful, just mistakes. But we still beat ourselves up, declare how stupid we are, have our little pity party. We get over our mistakes and continue living our lives. But do we really learn from them? Are they places of creativity - to create a new focus, new habits, or new directions? By acting with intentionality, we can creatively begin anew from our failures, tragedies, and disappointments. A place of genesis.
Sometimes, however, our mistakes are sinful. We are fallen people who although have been created anew through Christ, still sin. It is in and through our sin that we really need to have genesis moments. We begin by truly repenting, which literally means to turn around and go in a new direction. The direction God desires us to go. We can then have genesis moments that are guided by God himself.
This is exactly what happened to the Apostle Peter. On the night before his crucifixion, Jesus predicted Peter would deny him. Peter boldly pushed back, saying…
“If I have to die with you, I will never deny you.” - Mark 14:31a CSB
Yet Peter did deny Jesus. Three times! The shame. The agony. The disappointment in himself that Peter must have felt. When the realization of what he had done hit him, we are told that Peter wept bitterly (Mt. 26:75, Mk. 14:72, Lk. 22;62).
We see, however, in John’s gospel (Jn. 21:15-19) Jesus creating for Peter a genesis of restoration, hope, and direction. A new beginning for Peter. He was to feed Jesus’ sheep. His genesis was to be the shepherd of the church that would soon be born at Pentecost.
We were not alive when our Lord walked this earth, and we are not Peter. But God still is calling us to genesis moments. Moments of fresh starts. Moments of new directions. The question becomes, “Are we recognizing our genesis moments?”
Are we aware of the encounters, situations, failures, and even successes where God could create something new for us? How do we step into the mindset of “genesis recognition?” How do we recognize our genesis moments?
First, we need to realize that life and genesis moments are not linear. We do not live our lives in a straight line. Life is a zig-zag hodge-podge of encounters, thoughts, reflections, elations, disappointments, failures, successes, and everything else we call living. This means that genesis moments can happen at any time and in any situation. Even the smallest thing can bring a genesis moment.
Second, we must not only be aware of what is happening in our lives, we must be sensitive to Holy Spirit’s prompting and leading. If we are open, God will reveal to us our genesis moments. He will show us the new directions, new opportunities, the needed changes he is leading us into.
In his book, Makoto Fujimura tells of how he discovered the concept of genesis moments. After their marriage, he and his wife moved to Connecticut so his wife could complete her master’s degree in marriage counseling. Like many of us starting out, their income was meager, and they struggled to make ends meet each month. Then the bouquet of flowers happened! Here is Makoto’s telling of the incident.
One evening I was sitting alone, waiting for Judy to come home to quiet our small apartment, worried about how we were going to afford the rent and pay for necessities over the weekend. Our refrigerator was empty and I had no cash left.
Then Judy walked in, and she had brought home a bouquet of flowers. I got really upset.
“How could you think of buying flowers if we can’t even eat!” I remember saying, frustrated.
Judy’s reply has been etched in my heart for over thirty years now. “We need to feed our souls, too.
Judy’s words, ““We need to feed our souls, too,” brought into existence a genesis moment for Makoto – in three parts. I believe that the three areas he shares are a helpful foundation for stepping into our genesis moments.
The first is a renewed conviction of who we are in our uniqueness. Makoto is an artist. That is not only what he does, but who he is! God has created each of us unique. There has never been, or never will be, anyone like you or me. We have a unique personality and giftedness created by God himself. In genesis moments, God is continually presenting genesis moments as he says “This is how I want you to live out your uniqueness.” It might be a minor change in our daily habits or focus. But it could be a major change of direction that changes our entire life! Think of the Apostle Paul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. That is a magnitude ten genesis moment.
Second, is a new perspective on how God wants to use us. It is easy to get “stuck” in our service for God. We step into a pattern of using our giftedness a certain way, in a certain ministry, in a certain church, in a certain location. God’s genesis for us is always something new – a new beginning. It may be as simple as changing how we do things in our current ministry. Or it could be a total change in ministry. Or even a new location in which to do ministry. Whatever new perspective our God-given genesis is, we need to embrace it.
The third aspect is a deliberate focus on the new genesis. I love the story of Abram, later named Abraham, and how he was totally focused on his new genesis. Let me remind you of the story.
The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
So Abram departed as the LORD had instructed, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. - Genesis 12:1-4 NLT
“So, Abram departed as the LORD had instructed” – to the land God would show him. He didn’t even know where God was leading. He only knew that God said to travel south and when he got to the new genesis land, God would let him know. And he did it! After living seventy-five years in the same place, God gave Abram a genesis of relocation. A huge promise to become a blessing to the entire world. But that genesis promise carried with it a scary relocation to a place where he didn’t even know the location.
So, when and how will God show us our next genesis? Only he knows. Our role is to be ready – to be walking closely with Holy Spirit and to be open to our next genesis opportunity. In order to do that, we must know and be comfortable with how God has uniquely created us. We must be open to new ways in which God wants to use us. And finally, we must wholeheartedly accept and embrace the new genesis that God has opened up before us.
God calls us to be “genesis people” – people who are always living in a beginning newness in him.