In the beginning God . . . | ||
| Genesis 1:1 | ||
| The word genesis means “beginning.” Therefore, Genesis is a fitting title for the book before us, for its pages record the beginning of everything - the beginning of creation, man, sin, family, culture, and industry. It deals with the beginning of everything one could possibly imagine - except it does not deal with the beginning of God. Why? First, because God has no beginning. Second, the Bible being, in a sense, the autobiography of God, He needs no introduction. Think about it. If you were to write your life story, you would not spend chapters trying to prove that you exist because the very fact that you were writing the book would verify your existence. The more I study the Bible, the more I realize it was composed supernaturally. Comprised of sixty-six different books written by forty different authors over a span of sixteen hundred years in three different languages, yet, there isn’t one contradiction. Instead, there is a unified theme that begins here in Genesis, the book of beginning, and extends through the book of Revelation. That theme is the story of God’s gracious, glorious work of redemption. A number of years ago, due to a previous commitment, I wasn’t able to see one of my son Benjamin’s Little League games. “How did it go, Ben?” I asked eagerly upon my return. “Well,” he answered, “before I got up to bat the first time, I went to the end of the dugout, got on my knees, and prayed.” “Atta boy!” I said. “You probably parked it over the fence, huh?” “No, I struck out,” he said, as a huge grin spread across his face. “But I got to pitch the next inning!” How often we pray, “Lord, change my husband,” or “Lord, help my boss see my talent,” or “Lord, let me hit a homer” - only to strike out. But there’s a next inning, folks - a big inning, a new, big inning - a new beginning. That’s always the way it is. For, although our God has no beginning, He gives us new, big innings, and new beginnings every time we call on Him. Pastor Jon Courson | ||
