I’ve sub-themed my newly-started blog with the above heading. I expect I’ll roam fairly freely in what I write about, probably drawing on my studies in Economics, English Literature and Theology. But I’ll keep returning to the questions I am always asking – where is God in this, what is he saying and can I discern any of it? So I’ll lay down some basic tenets of how I see the world, foundational to which are the opening chapters of the Bible.

The aim of everything, in history and in the Bible, is the creation of a better and, ultimately, an ideal world.

Genesis chapter 1 begins in darkness with the raging waters of chaos everywhere. The subsequent creation is wonderful, culminating in the creation of human beings – male and female who are all made in the image of God and so have infinite dignity and are able to ‘connect’ with God.

However, creation is marred by the continuing presence of darkness and the waters of chaos, though their power has been limited. Heaven, or kingdom of God, as envisaged in the last book of the Bible, Revelation, is without any sea and there is no darkness. That is our destiny.

So I do not hold the view that the world was created perfect and then human beings messed it up (though we certainly do that). Historically it makes no sense. The universe we know is about 14 billion years old and earth itself several billion years old. Creation is ongoing, costly, and dependent on the Spirit of God who still moves creatively over his creation.

The second account of creation begins in Genesis chapter 2. It is a story, a parable, which powerfully illustrates the consequences of representative human beings making bad choices. In particular, Adam and Eve listen to the wrong voices. The wily snake plays on their own inner desires: to be their own god, to make their own decisions and to satisfy their own carnal desires. And, of course, the story is illustrative of the human predilection to be dissatisfied with the plenty that they do have and to always want more, particularly what they are told they can’t have. These are what separate Adam and Eve, men and women, from God.

And what about creation itself? In Genesis 1 it is very good, but still shot through with darkness and chaos, as history continues to reveal. In the second story, human beings are made from the earth, and God breathes into them the breath of life. They are given the task of caring for their world on behalf of God. Their disobedience not only curses them, but also the earth to which they are inextricably linked.

The next chapters of Genesis illustrate that the natural path of human beings is to chaos and self-destruction; everything that can go wrong does. God’s solution to this apparently disastrous start begins with Abraham and Sarah through whom the nation Israel is founded. Its task is to be a priestly nation, making God known to the world. Its failure (like Adam and Eve’s) reflects the failure of all humanity to live according to God’s laws, until the Spirit of God gives birth, through Mary, to Jesus. Jesus is the Israelite who ticks all the boxes, the true servant of the Lord. His life, death and resurrection saves the world from the consequences of sin, and ensures the promised kingdom of God, heaven on earth, will come.

Jesus was anointed by the Spirit of God for his mission. He instructs his followers to await the anointing of the same Spirit and when that happens, to go and be witnesses to the ends of the earth that in Jesus God’s kingdom has come and will be fulfilled.

The final book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation sets out God’s promise that good will finally triumph over evil, and darkness and chaos will be no more. The separation between God and human beings, illustrated by their ejection from the Garden of Eden, will be ended. God will wipe away every tear and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things will pass away and creation will be complete.

To finish this whistle stop (and woefully inadequate!) tour of history and the Bible, I just want to highlight one very formative image: the Spirit of God moving creatively over the waters of chaos. This image from Genesis 1 is a picture of what God is still doing, is always doing. It fills me with hope again and again. It forms my prayers and gets me doing something.

Whatever the situation, however dark or chaotic it seems, it is not God-forsaken. God is always there, amidst the darkness and chaos, working for good, inviting us to see it, to know it, to join in and work with him.