The three children, Marissa, Jason and Tim sat in front of Austin.
“Today,” Austin started, “We’re going to go back to the very beginning. Back to when we were with God, and how we lost everything.”
“In the beginning, everything was dark,” Austin began. “There was nothing but God The Father, The Holy Spirit, and Jesus. And each day for six days,” Austin explained, “God The Father, with the help of The Holy Spirit, created something new.”
“On the first day, they created the earth. The earth was a giant ball of water, floating in darkness, and the Holy Spirit went down to the earth and hovered over it in excitement, ready to nurture what was to come. They then created light, and the sun shone on the earth. They saw the light was good, and called it day.”
“Why was the light good?” Jason asked.
“You’ll hear the word ‘good’ a lot,” started Austin. When God The Father and The Holy Spirit create something perfect, they call it good every time.”
Jason nodded his head in understanding.
“On the second day, they created dry land, separating it from the water. They called it earth, and saw that it was good.”
“On the third day, they commanded plants into existence. Plants sprung up all over the earth and bore fruit. They saw that it was good.”
“On the fourth day, they created the sun, the moon and the stars. The sun shines light on the earth during the day, and the moon gives us light at night. They saw that it was good.”
“On the fifth day, they created animals to inhabit the earth, and saw that it was good.”
“On the sixth day, God the Father and the Holy Spirit said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have authority over all of the fish in the sea, the birds in the air and over all of the animals.”
“So together, they made man and woman in the image of God, and saw that it wasn’t just good, but it was very good.”
“What does it mean to be made in God’s image?” Asked Marissa.
“You can hear God The Father say ‘Made in our image,’ right?” Austin asked. Marissa nodded her head. “The image of God is God The Father and the Holy Spirit. Male is created in the likeness of God The Father, and female in the likeness of the Holy Spirit. It means that our nature and desires are a reflection of theirs. We are their children.
“God The Father is the one with all of the authority. He is the one who commanded the world into existence, and he is the one who makes the plan about everything that is to come. He gives us our talents and abilities that make us who we are and sets the plan for us to follow.”
“The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, is like a mom. She pours out all of her love to us and nurtures us so that we may grow.”
“What I’ve said about God’s image so far isn’t even the important part,” the children’s ears perked up, “The important part is that God The Father and the Holy Spirit are linked and do not exist without each other. The Holy Spirit is a part of God The Father, and God The Father is incomplete without the Holy Spirit. In fact, one of the first things that humans learn is that we’re incomplete when we’re alone.”
“Why would they make us in their image?” She asked.
“God the Father and the Holy Spirit want to love, and be loved. Part of being loved is being seen for who we are. We are made in the image of them, so that we could know them, and through knowing them, we can love them deeply.”
Marissa understood.
“On the seventh day, Mom and Dad (the Holy Spirit and God The Father) looked upon all they had created and rested. They blessed the seventh day and called it holy.”
“Why did they want to rest? Aren’t they God?” Tim asked.
“Remember how we’re made in God’s image?” Austin asked, “That gives us a very special opportunity to understand God The Father and the Holy Spirit (Mom and Dad). We can’t understand them fully, because we’re made in their image and not actually God, but we can look into how we feel to understand how they do.”
“After they spent six days creating, they wanted to enjoy what they made, so they did. It’s like if you were to build a pillow fort and then relax inside it. Just because you could keep making it bigger, doesn’t mean that you want to. Sometimes, you just want to relax.”
“In resting, they showed us just how much we’re like them.”
Austin looked at Tim to see if he understood and he nodded his head.
Read Chapter two