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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Start (01/16/06)
Dust swirled around the tent, which was used to block the archeologist from the sun’s scorching rays. Ty Wilson had just returned to the enclosure after emptying another bucket of sand. It was slow and frustrating work. And, it seemed that today it would be fruitless. That’s when his trowel turned up a small leather fragment. His heart pounded. What else would he find? Painstakingly, he removed more powder until it became clear that he had found some sort of book. He wanted to thrust his hands into the dirt and pull it out, but knew better. An old book could crumble with such force. The leather edition that finally emerged after two hours of meticulous labor astounded him. Ty fumbled with the leather strap that held the book closed. Careful not to tear the ancient manuscript as he opened it, he began to decipher the Hebrew text…

““Let us make man in our image….” That’s a good idea, but there needs to be much thought if we want to create with excellence. True, true, we must start with man in mind, but he will be unlike us, in that he will have a physical being and thus must have a place to stay. Let us create for him a home filled with more splendors than one man could enjoy in a lifetime. Yes, it is extravagant, but if we want the best for him, we must craft a world that is overflowing with good things for this man to enjoy.

“And how will he enjoy this bounty? The physical body that we place him in will be equipped with senses to smell, to taste, to touch, to see, and to hear. Perhaps we should create more senses. Let us save them for another season or another creation. Yes, this is good.

“And how will he live in this new home we create for him? Let us create a cycle or rhythm of life. We will govern the rhythm with light and darkness. It can be further ordered by times and seasons. Stars and a sun and a moon will regulate such seasons and give order to the light and darkness, which we will call day and night.

“And can we give him playthings to delight himself in? Yes, and it will be good. Animals and birds to enchant his ears and eyes will abound. Trees with seeds and fruit to entice his taste buds will be everywhere in this place that we will call the Garden. He will feel water in the air he breathes and waters that gush forth from the earth. And we will showers his abode with flowers to create a smell that pleasures his nostrils each new day.

“If we create all this for him, how will we distinguish him from all the other creatures we have created? Let us breathe into him a spirit, like our own, to make him unique among creation. Ah yes, that would be exceedingly good, but it is risky. To truly have such a spirit, he must have the freedom to choose us or to reject us. But this is what we want, is it not? We do not want to create a being like the animals and the trees that praise us simply by their existence. The choice will make him unique.

“And what if he rejects us? Then I will make a way. I will take on his form and go down to his world. I will live a life that perfectly chooses us all the days and seasons of living on that earth. And then, after I have shown man how to live, I will be the sacrifice to save him from his very self. I will be his Savior. I am willing.

“Then it is settled. Let us begin…. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.””

Ty trembled wildly as he pulled the book closely to his chest. Had he actually found the diary of God?

*Isaiah 55:8 (NIV) tells us, ““For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD.” Still, a little ‘holy imagination’ helps us to understand the magnitude of the awesome responsibility God undertook in creating man. Scripture references in this piece are Genesis 1:26b and Genesis 1:1 (NIV).
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This article has been read 867 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Ruth Neilson
01/23/06
wow, creative. I like that a lot.
Marilyn Schnepp 
01/24/06
This was very, very enchanting and interesting! I liked the idea of it being God's diary. So very creative and well written! God Bless.
Jan Ackerson
01/24/06
Cleverly done.
Kirralie Smith
01/26/06
Fantastic, I really appreciated your angle. Thanks for a good read.
Shari Armstrong 
01/28/06
What a very creative entry! wow!
Val Clark
01/28/06
What a find! Thanks for plumbing the depths of your imagination and sharing this. It's a creative, well written and throroughly satisfying read. Yeggy
Carol Dee Meeks
01/28/06
All I can say is
WOW!!!!!

Wonderful!!!!!

WOW!!!

Carol Dee Meeks