Genesis 1:11-13                                                                     The Creation of Plants

11 "Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day" (NIV).


God used a logical progression when He created the universe.  He started with light, then He divided the waters so that there was sky above and water below.  Then He gathered the seas together and made dry land appear.  The earth was now ready for plants, and they were necessary so that animals would have food to eat.
Each time He created something, He took time to look at it, and every time He said, ‘It was beautiful and good.’  How good were plants?
There are almost 400,000 species of plants.  We’ve seen tiny white blossoms emerging in volcanic rock, and we’ve seen large, beautiful, colorful, and complex ‘birds of paradise.’  And we’ve seen, as you have, many varieties in between, from single blade grasses to intricate roses to Sequoia trees.  I’ve mentioned flowering plants because 94% of plants produce flowers; that’s about 375,000 flowering plants.  Wow!  Some flowers on plants give promise of fruit to come next, and some flowers seem to have beauty as their particular gift.   After all, God did look at plants and say that they were beautiful as well as good.  
Plants provide more than food; they also provide oxygen.  Through the process of photosynthesis, plants take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen.   Before we say that plants are the prime source of oxygen, we have to realize that plants also, through cellular respiration, take in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide.  So they are users of oxygen as well as producers of oxygen, but it needs to be said that photosynthesis takes place much more often than cellular respiration, so plants do provide large amounts of oxygen for the use of animals.  
The next time you eat an apple look at a seed and realize that from that seed another entire apple tree can grow and produce many apples.  The next time you eat a walnut, look at it  and realize that when properly planted, that single walnut will grow into a large tree that produces thousands of walnuts just like it.  But, then, that’s just what God said they would do.   
God created plants for food for animals and humans and also to produce oxygen, but He also created plants for beauty.  He created logically to provide food and oxygen, but He also created exquisitely to bring enjoyment through plants.  He is a logical, caring, and artistic God.  While He created in a manner that made it possible for life to occur, He also created in a manner to bring joy into our lives.   That’s right, 400,000 species of plants express God’s love. 
In creation, God reveals Himself as a loving God.

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