Genesis 1:20-25 (NRSV)
Read Genesis 1:20-25 on biblegateway.com
Verse 20And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky." Verse 21So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. Verse 22God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." Verse 23And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
Verse 24And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind." And it was so. Verse 25God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.
Devotion
God finishes creation by filling the earth with animated life. To feed people, God gave all the plants and trees having seed, while other land animals had green plants for food. So, life in one part of creation supported life in another part of creation.
Trees play an interesting part in the story of salvation. While their fruit is source of temptation, it is also from the sacrifice on a tree that our salvation was won. Even today trees change our carbon dioxide into oxygen, in order support life. Life from a tree—a theme for our Lenten journey.
Prayer
Lord God, we thank you for your creation and the life it brings. Help us, who have the dominion of stewardship, to live so that the creation reflects your grace and glory, and provides in abundance to all. Amen.