In the wider Christian world you will find varied views on Creation ranging from an historic six day creation to theistic evolution and everything in between. Certainly God as creator, creation ex nilo (out of nothing), the existence of Adam and Eve, a Fall, etc, are all primary views. “I believe in God the Father, maker of heaven and earth” the Apostles Creed says. However, is the how as important? How did God create the world? This—in my view, strictly speaking—is a secondary matter; yet nevertheless so indispensable to the Gospel that it borders on being a primary matter and hence worthy of our attention.
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The absence of an historic six-day creation has at least 5 implications for the Gospel:

1. Is it reliable? 
Many treat Gen 1–11 as if it were pre-history, somehow in a different category to the rest of Genesis and in this way able to reckon Genesis with science. (Even though literarily those chapters are written in the same Hebrew narrative style; it’s all meant to be viewed as history).

When Jesus spoke about creation in relation to His teaching on divorce He (the Creator) cited it as if the narrative were true, “He answered, ‘Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female…” (Mt 19:4). If we want people to believe the rest of the Bible, including the Gospel, we must remain committed to the trustworthiness of its foundation.

2. The basis of the Gospel’s backbone (a biblical worldview).
Every story stands or falls upon the story that came before it. Genesis answers questions of origins and lays the foundation for biblical doctrines. If you remove the story’s foundation you jeopardize the story itself.

For example the 9 Cs have often been used to simplify the overarching story of the Bible:

Creation/Corruption/Curse/Catastrophe/Confusion/Covenant/Christ/Cross/Consummation

However if Gen 1–11 (even 12) are not real events in some meaningful way then this is all you are left with:

                                                                                                                   Christ/Cross/Consummation

The Gospel story then stands on shaking ground.

3. The impact on other fundamental beliefs.
The Creation account, as we’re seeing more and more in our culture, matters for other fundamental Christian beliefs, most notably gender and sexuality. Both Jesus and Paul root their theology of gender and sexuality in Genesis. Churches most impacted by cultural views on these subjects also tend to have the most fluidity when it comes to their views of Genesis.

4. The origin of death.
This is crucial. The Bible clearly says in multiple places that death came as a result of sin (e.g. Ro 6:23a). That can only be true if the narrative in Genesis is true. The moment you allow for an old earth you admit death before the Fall. The whole Gospel revolves around Jesus being the solution to death that resulted from the Fall that didn’t exist beforehand.

5. The first and second Adam. 
There are other theories as to how Adam was really the first man, however, how is Paul to be taken at His word that Adam was the father of all peoples (Acts 17:26) if in fact he wasn’t. Add to this Christ as the second Adam (1 Cor 15:45, c.f. v. 21–22) who through faith becomes our federal head so we no longer suffer from the effects of the first Adam.
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So questions of Creation are not simply a peripheral issue to be avoided because in our culture it happens to be controversial; with gentleness and respect we must insist upon its great Gospel significance.

Being a Christian I’ve always been a Creationist in a general sense. Without very robust discipleship when I was young I was exposed to everything from Young Earth Creationism to forms of Old Earth Creationism and everything that exists in between within contemporary Christian culture. I grew up in an age where evolution was mildly present in the education system and so felt a tension between the Bible and prevailing beliefs. By default I affirmed some basics of Creation but also was willing to settle upon aspects of an older earth viewpoint. However, I had other more pressing questions in my discipleship and so this question was left for another day.

Fast forward to 2017–2018 and this still described my position, though I was continually bumping up against the subject and knew—not in any way avoiding it—that it was a subject I really needed to get a more decided view of. Then I became what I like to call a Classic, or Younger Earth, Creationist (Classic because some forms of Young Earth Creationism can still bear some peculiarities). As I’m not a scientist, though certainly scientific, most of the arguments that unhinged my view were biblical-philosophical, etc, rather than science based.

Here are the key points that led to me becoming a Creationist:

1. What saith the bees? As a beekeeper, very well acquainted with the wonder and complexity of the honey bee, I knew it was impossible for such a complex organism and society to simply evolve. Remove any one component and the whole simply does not work. I.e. evolution doesn’t work when set against the bee. This is known as Irreducible Complexity.
2. How could the earth be young when it looks old? Here I was exposed to a man who had both scientific and theological qualifications. In fact, he was a university professor who had overseen multi-billion dollar space agency programs. Specializing in design he shared a simple antidote: engines used to have to be ‘broken in’ after they came off of the assembly line. Today engines are designed ‘road worthy’ as soon as they come off of the assembly line. It is a new engine but appears ‘old.’ This helped unhinge my thinking and led to further cataclysmic discoveries.
3. What saith Church History? Being the respecter of church history I came to appreciate that prior to the late 1800s all Christians had either held to a literal six days of creation or a younger earth view. Men whose other views I respected, such as the authors of classic Protestant/Baptist confessions, had this to say: “In the beginning it pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,1 for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal power,2 wisdom, and goodness, to create or make the world, and all things therein, whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days, and all very good.” (1689.4.1). Was I wiser than they?
4. What would bring God more glory? Even a cursory glimpse of the Bible tells us that all things exist for God’s glory, to demonstrate the greatness of His being. What would glorify Him more, slowly creating the world over time or suddenly speaking and Creation coming into being because of the power of His words? The latter appeared to be the clearest and most compelling answer to me.
5. What saith the Bible? While all of these other hinges are useful, what saith the Bible? This is where every Christian should seek to find their answers. Yet surprisingly it wasn’t Genesis that ultimately led me to adopt a Creationist view but Hebrew 11:3, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” Speaking of how evolution taxed our faith more than the Bible because of what is necessary to believe the theory, Spurgeon said, ‘O infidelity! thou art a hard master, and thy taxes on our faith are far more burdensome than those which Revelation has ever made.’ This certainly proved true for me, for when, in faith, I trusted and accepted another historic quote was proven true, “I believe that I may understand” (Anselm). In believing my mind found rest to be able to move on to not only seeing correctly but advancing in other areas of theology.  

 
*Since then other blocks have been laid that have reinforced my view (such as the distinction between observational science and speculative science- science is not history or religion, there are questions it cannot answer).

As we see the negative fallout of evolutionary thought in our world (e.g. hopelessness and immorality) I hope many Christians who aren’t Creationists in the strict sense will see the value of reconsidering these matters and that this testimony has given you cause for consideration (or encouragement if I’ve been preaching to the choir).

This past Lord’s Day I spoke about Creation Care (Gen 2:15) as a theme for Thanksgiving.
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A point that I raised, that I thought was worth pursuing a bit further, was of Adam as a gardener. Gardening was our first occupation; hence my love of gardening.  I like to think that when I garden I am being a little bit like Adam in his pre-Fall obedience. I love tending to my gardens. It is something that brings me great joy. Part of my love for gardening was instilled by my grandmother and her British-Christian heritage, for Britain is still known as a Garden (and once was known as “the garden of the Lord”). Pioneers and community residents right up to living memory (and still including some) used to be known for their gardens. Most farmsteads boasted a large array of perennials much as Mennonite farms do today (see the connection?).

As a generalization I would argue that gardening is good for the soul (and even if you can’t have a garden there are house or balcony plants, for example). When you compare the lives of those who have & don’t have gardens this point is generally borne out (i.e. The busy, self-focused, who have a want of creation connection and appreciation with no garden often does equal an astroturf-life).
Thinking to the Garden of Eden and to gardens generally, consider the following benefits of gardening:

1. We reflect God’s creativity.
2. We value beauty for beauty sake, something that glorifies Him.
3. We derive satisfaction from the fruits of our labours, seeing the end result of our work.
4. We rejoice in seeing life, as He is the author of life.
5. We steward something, learning responsibility.
6. We think and care for something beyond our self, learning selflessness.
7. We become rooted in Creation, versus the many odd views that arise from being divorced from creation.
8. Making new gardens or establishing old ones is redemptive, like the Gospel.
9. Tending to gardens, an ongoing process, is like sanctification.
10. Gardening is relaxing; it is time for prayer and thought.
11. Gardening provides space to worship God as the Creator.

Maybe next season you might take up gardening?

More importantly, are you gardening (tending and keeping) your own soul?  (c.f. Heb 13:17, the job of Christian leaders).