Day 3

One of the enjoyable aspects of reading Peterson is that he has such a wonderful gift for language. This makes many of his comments and views memorable. But it also means that it is so easy to get swept up in the beauty of what he writes that the reader simply gets carried along enjoying the literature.
In this book he is anxious to express his view that to be 'spiritual' is to live as a Christian in everyday life. This means living our Christian lives where we are in the world.
He writes about the link he sees between the opening chapters of Genesis and the Gospel of John. He quotes Barth - " Jesus is the key to the secret of creation" . While Peterson himself obviously enjoys the wonder of creation he suggests that if we want to really look at creation we need to look at the person( not just the person of Christ but at the people around us). I would think that most of us would say that we catch a glimpse of the wonder of God in creation rather than in the people who are part of that creation. But yet it was within a life lived on earth that God revealed himself most completely.
He sees in Genesis chapter one the description of the creation of time, while in chapter 2 it is the description of the creation of place. Through the gift of time we participate in the present and daily work of God. The gift of place gives us the setting where we live the message. He sees the account of Adam and Eve as reminding us of the challenge to live in the land of the free.( land of freedom and necessity).

In this chapter he returns to one of his constant themes - sabbath keeping. In this we find a God-given rhythm to our lives. He feels that without sabbath keeping it is all our 'unsabbathed' work which then defines the entire context of our lives. Peterson emphasizes the importance of worship with the people of God as a vital part of the rhythm of our lives. For him worship on Sunday is like weekly housekeeping - it clears the ground and helps us get ready to live as Christians in the rest of the week.
For him it is " the workshop for the practice of eternity"