As the Associate Pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Hutchinson, KS, I write a weekly article for the newsletter article. I invite both members of the church and other visitors to my blog to share their thoughts!

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Ok, remember the days of closed book tests (some of you are in school now; I’m sure you remember them!)  Well I’ve got one for you: How would you tell the creation story without opening your Bible?  Not just the “seven days” part, but also the “Adam and Eve” part?

Now here’s the real kicker…  If you had to pick the most important part of the story, the part that has most affected human history and your life in particular, which part would you choose?  Would you choose the part where man is made caretaker of the earth?  Would you choose the part where man and woman were created for each other?  Would you choose the bit with the snake and the fruit as most pivotal for human history?

How you answer this question makes a tremendous difference in how you live and how you relate to God, to your fellow human beings, and to yourself.  Frankly, the parts you choose to focus on can change the meaning of the entire story.  Let me give you an example: if you don’t think much of the “caretaker” part, I’m guessing you’re also someone who doesn’t recycle.  I’m also guessing farmers and ranchers think of that section more often than the rest of us.

The biggest difference, though, comes with my last suggestion above.  If you think Adam and Eve eating the apple makes the most difference in your life, then it means you view the world entirely differently than if you instead focus on God creating us and saying “It is very good.”

This Sunday in Higher Ground and next Sunday in the traditional services I am going to tell several creation stories (or shades of creation stories) and ask which story you identify with.  I hope you’ll consider it between now and then, though.  What you think of our beginning makes a huge difference in who we are now and in who we will be in the future!

I also hope you’ll share your thoughts on my blog, http://ministrygeek.net.