The Beginning

1.  John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The beginning. Before time (Jude 1:25), before the cosmos, even before angels; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit existed in perfect, unbroken fellowship. With them was love, for God is love; light, for God is light; peace, for God is a God of peace.

To think of Christ as the Creator transforms the reading of the Word. Christ was “in the beginning”, with God, and God. All created things owe their existence to Him. All that live owe their life to Him. All stars that shine owe their light to Him. From our after-the-Fall perspective, we are immediately confronted with a problem: that if darkness, death, and evil exist, they owe their existence to our perfect Creator.

But “light shines in the darkness.” There is darkness, but the life that is in Him is light for us. “And the darkness has not overcome it;” there is hope even in the darkness that taints the purity of the creation as it was in the beginning. There is life, even in a deadly world. There is God.

God, in peace and perfect love, was first. He is in first place in the universe, and so He ought to be first in my heart and thoughts as well. Since He exists outside of time and space, He is everlasting. In the scope of time, He created everything. Then evil came into existence. But the God Who is outside of and over time and space is more than capable of conquering it. This is a light over our existence—to know the sovereignty of a loving God over all creation, over our own lives!

"You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,

and the heavens are the work of your hands;

they will perish, but you remain;

they will all wear out like a garment,

like a robe you will roll them up,

like a garment they will be changed.

But you are the same,

and your years will have no end." Hebrews 1:10-13, quoting Psalm 102:25-27

Isn’t it like You, God; to make a beginning that has no end? And since You are the beginning, be first in my life. Let my priorities and plans for this year begin with You and find completion with You. Be the center and the focus of my worldview this year. You are over all things in the universe, and in my own life. You are the light and the hope of my existence. You are eternal and what You do is everlasting. You are God. Amen.