“In the beginning God…” Would you be surprised to know that the magical journey of discovering who God is and how powerful and loving and gracious and…(on and on and on) is discovered or abandoned right here with these first four words of the Bible? Trust what is said about God right here and the adventure of a lifetime begins. You can discover more and more about the Almighty God of the universe who loves us and offers adoption into His family.
Doubt them and the adventure is aborted almost before it even begins.
You see, like most things with God, it’s all or nothing.
- All of the Bible is true or none of it is true.
- Jesus is God or He’s a lunatic or some kind of pathological liar.
- Jesus is the only way or there are an infinite number of ways (to heaven).
- We are all here by grand design or we are all the accidental result of some highly ambitious pond scum (nevermind where that came from) that was tired of being held back.
But the reason we can’t have it both ways is because Jesus is an all or nothing kinda God–very gracious and forgiving of our sin, but not so keen on double mindedness. Which brings us back to creation.
The divine record of Genisis assumes the existence of God rather than seeking to prove it. In fact, the Bible has a name for those who choose to deny the obvious fact of God–‘fool’ (see Psalm 14:1 and 53:1). God is not hiding. Look around, creation makes it abundantly clear that someone put together a highly elaborate deal here–someone who wants to be noticed–someone who wants to be worshiped.
So there you are, a teenager at your grandparent’s house. You don’t really want to be there, but it’s one of those family things, and so you’re there.
You sit politely and act like you are listening as your folks and grandparents talk. Then your grandmother says something that catches your attention. She refers to your great-grandfather and the trip he made to America from the “old-country.”
“What?” You ask.
Grandma smiles, knowing that at some point we all wonder about our origin and here you are wondering about yours.
She unravels a tale of your family escaping persecution and settling in eastern Virginia. Next, she invites you into her room, where she opens a large chest that has sat at the foot of her bed for as long as you can remembner. A rush of cedar and mothballs fills the room.
“Thought you might like to see this,” she explains, handing you a black and white photo in a large walnut frame. “It’s your great-grandpa.” The only thing stiffer than his collar is his expression. “Here is his father,” she hands you another photo, one of a cowboy wearing a wide brimmed hat, riding a horse.
Piece by piece, the chest tells its family tales. Soon you find yourself lost in a floor covered with old wedding gowns , photo albums, diplomas, and bronzed baby shoes. And before you leave, you find yourself the owner of something precious–a heritage. An ancestry. A begining. An origin.
You know that you are part of a family tree. You aren’t an isolated pond, but rather a part of a river winding through a great canyon.
You leave a richer person. Knowing where you came from says much about where you are going.
Perhaps that’s why the first book of the Bible is a book about beginnings. God wants us to know from where we came. Learning that will teach us much about the place we are going.
–Max Lucado
That’s why it’s so important to know about beginnings, to know where you came from so that you can know where you are going, all or nothing–right out of the gate.
Then you’ll finish well. A gurenteed ending of this life and thrilling start to the next for all who place their trust in Christ Jesus!