In the Beginning . . .
.
Genesis 1:1-3
1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. 3. And God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
Psalm 102:25
Of old thou didst lay the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
Psalm 90:1-2
1. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 2. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting thou art God.
Isaiah 45:18
For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!), who formed the earth and made it (he established it; he did not create it a chaos, he formed it to be inhabited!): "I am the Lord, and there is no other.
John 1:1-5
1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2. He was in the beginning with God; 3. all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Matthew 4:4
But he answered, "It is written, `Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"
2 Corinthians 4:6
For it is the God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
In Hebrew, the word “create” is used only in reference to divine activity, never to human. By a mere passing thought, God hovered over what would become our earth! At the mere utterance of four words, God put in place the sun -- necessary for all existence. He also created the night and thus set in place the endless, timeless repetition of day after night after day after night.
I like the thought of that certainty, that rhythm, that repetition. It is reassuring that God has an on-going and everlasting plan for His creations! I can remember talking to my Dad when I was very young about how it was impossible for God to “always have existed” because it wasn’t logical! He assured that it was true, and that in that mystery we could be assured that God always would exist and remain in charge of our lives.
God was very busy and very creative! He gathered, separated, filled and gave form to the whole world – and then when everything for our existence had been brought into being, He created us – in His image and likeness – so He would have others to share in the glory of His works!
And from the beginning God revealed the truth of His creative reasoning to man – and throughout history He inspired the prophets to share the words that would enlighten men’s hearts and turn them back to Him.
His final word was, of course, Jesus. The timeline in my bible indicates that the world as we know it existed 2500 years before Christ came on the scene. So maybe in about 500 more years we will have figured it all out and live rightly!
I am comforted and relieved that God is truly manifest in our world. I am overwhelmed and awed that He could continue to love us in a time when the world seems to be spinning out of control! I’m sure He is saddened and disappointed by his beloved creations! But I am equally comforted and relieved that I can run to Him and that by a mere thought of His power and might, I can be re-energized and that the Holy Spirit is reignited in me to continue the works for which God created me!
I hope you spend your day in the certain assurance that God existed before time began and that we are unable to sin so deeply or so horribly that we are beyond redemption -- through Jesus Christ.
Mary
