Genesis 1:1
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
With the dawn of a new year, it is time to restart my annual Bible reading. I have returned to the Discipleship Journal plan, as this seems to be the best option for me. The plan draws from multiple places in Scripture—4 readings per day—thus allowing me to see Old and New Testament passages each reading. It also has only 25 readings per month, thus giving me the opportunity to catch up or to take weekend days off to read other select passages.
As this day’s reading began, I found myself meditating on the first chapter of Genesis and even the first verse of the Bible. The concept of creation is something that we often skim right past. We know God made the heavens and the earth. We know that god spoke and light came into existence. We know these things, but do we really see the glory therein?
Stop to consider, you cannot create. You can reshape and repurpose. You might even be able to recycle and reuse if you are feeling all environmentally responsible. But you cannot create something from nothing. You cannot make light shine in darkness with your words. You cannot make a universe come into being where there previously was none. You cannot make a planet by your will.
Besides all this, you did not exist “in the beginning.” For God to have created the heavens and earth in the beginning he must exist beyond the beginning. He is before creation. HE is not created. He is not reliant on any other thing for his existence.
Thus, as I consider the truths before me, I am reminded on this first day of the year that God is indeed great, holy, and beyond my comprehension. His power is matchless. He is greater than me, greater to an infinite degree. That greatness must cause me to honor him.
The truth is, when we look at Genesis 1:1, we see the first and most important crisis of belief that we face. If this verse is true, if God really created all things in the beginning, then everything else in the Bible is believable. If it is true that God created all things in the beginning, then he holds the right of ownership over me. If this verse is true, God is my Lord, and I owe him my existence and my allegiance.
So, as 2015 begins, I will simply declare that I believe this verse to be true. God is. God is creator. God is almighty. God is my Lord. And I pray that I will serve him faithfully in this year to come.
Pastor Travis Peterson 