Genesis offers a profound and consistent narrative of creation: God's creative acts are preceded by the formation of a fitting environment. This principle spans from the simplest forms of life to humanity, the pinnacle of creation, highlighting a fundamental truth about our existence and dependence on God.
When God created the tree, He spoke to the earth, commanding it to “bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so” (Gen 1:11, KJV).
Similarly, when God created the fish, He spoke to the water. instructing them to "bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life..." (Gen 1:20). The waters, thus empowered, became the cradle of marine existence. “And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind…” (Gen 1:20).
This consistent pattern underscores the importance of a suitable habitat for life to flourish. A tree removed from the earth withers and dies, and a fish plucked from its watery domain perishes. These are not arbitrary occurrences, but reflections of the intrinsic connection between life and its sustaining environment.
In the same manner, when God created man, He spoke to Himself. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…" (Gen 1: 26-27). If man is removed from God, man will die.
If you remove a tree from the earth, it dies.
If you remove a fish from the water, it dies.
If man is removed from God, man will die.
Humanity's very essence is rooted in a divine connection. Consequently, just as a tree cannot survive without the earth or a fish without water, humanity cannot thrive apart from God.
God is the natural habitat or the natural environment for man. Outside of God, man cannot survive. We were created to live in the presence of God. It is only in Him and because of Him that life exists. “For in him we live, and move, and have our being…” (Acts 17:28). “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 Jn 5:12).
Separation from God leads to spiritual and, ultimately, physical death.
Sin uprooted man from his natural habitat. Sin is the separation from God. Because of sin, man started dying. Jesus came as the vine that allowed man to be grafted back to his natural habitat, which is God. The Bible says in John 15:5 "I am the vine and you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing.
May we all recognize our need for God and how hopeless we are without Him. The songwriter says, "Without Him, I can do nothing, without Him, I'll surely fail, without Him, I would be drifting, like a ship without a sail.
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