We love The Story ... God's Story ... filled
with the lives people who have 'walked with God' since the 'beginning of time'
... written to teach and encourage us so that we who follow Christ will
persevere and not give up [Romans 15:4 ]. The Story begins simple enough: In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1 ).
That brings us to Genesis 1:1 In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
I find it interesting that
God begins, not with an explanation of Himself. He starts simply with “in the
beginning.” But we are told about some things that were put into place before
‘the beginning’.
1. Before creation, God laid out our Salvation--1Peter 1:20-21 “He (Jesus) was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” We belonged to God before time began.
2. Before creation, God was electing His
people--Ephesians 1:4, "According as
he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be
holy and without blame before him in love." before the foundation of the world,
and therefore completely apart from any merit or deserving that any person
could have, God chose us in Him,
“in Christ” (v. 3).
3. Before creation, God was preparing a kingdom
for us--Matthew 24:34 “Then the King will
say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your
inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.”
4. Before creation, God Promised Eternal Life –Titus 1:2 (NASB95) in
the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago
He tells us enough …
He had a plan before it all started. It’s
a grand drama filled with ‘on-the-edge-of-your-seat’ moments, followed by
moments of stillness when nothing seems to be happening at all. Dramas need a stage. So in Genesis 1-2 God builds a grand stage from which action
unfolds with eternal consequences. This
drama is one of a kind, it pulls the observer into the action. At times we become one with the actors, seeing
the ups-and-downs of our own lives. Its
funny, its sad, its boring. At the end
of each scene you sit before leaving the theater … because the scenes force
each of us to reflect on our own lives.
This is The Story,
God’s Story … written so that we won’t give up.
