December 12

In The Beginning God

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. — Gen 1:1 BSB

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. — John 1:1-3 BSB

The book of Genesis means “Beginning.” In it, we find the origin of many streams—some clear and some murky—that still flow through the world today. Genesis tells us of the beginning of the heavens and the earth, of the human race, of sin and redemption, of marriage and the home, of the sciences and arts that have shaped our civilization, of the Hebrew race, and of the division of humanity into various nations. But not all these beginnings can be attributed to God, for regarding sin, pain, and sorrow, we must acknowledge that “an enemy has done this.”

In the Hebrew text, the word for God is plural, but the verb that follows it is singular, pointing to the mystery of the Holy Trinity. In His earthly life, Jesus prayed to the Father, asking to be glorified with the glory they shared before the world began.

Let us make God in Christ our beginning—the beginning of our lives, of our prayers, of our daily work, of our marriages and homes, of our interests and pleasures. He is the chief cornerstone on which the whole building of life can be properly constructed. He is the key to the harmony of life’s symphony. He is the source of all joy, strength, and beauty.

God is a faithful Creator. What He begins, He finishes. He does not grow weary or faint. Human love may falter, but God’s love never will. If you have never entered into the life He offers, begin today by putting God in His rightful place as Alpha—the First. If we cry out, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me,” He will answer, “Behold, I make all things new.” Listen to His promise: “I am the Alpha and the Omega… the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”

Prayer

O God, my Father, the Supreme Good and Beauty of all things beautiful, I entrust to You everything You have given me, that I may lose nothing. You made me for Yourself, and my heart is restless until it rests in You. Amen.