In the Beginning: Words of Foundation and Faith Building

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
                            Genesis 1:1 KJV

Beginnings

     When you think about beginnings, what comes to mind?  Do you think about story beginnings, your beginnings, or world beginnings?  Do you think about world beginnings or Bible beginnings?  Do you think of foundations, renewals, and newness?  What about the words, “in the beginning”?  What comes to mind with those words?  Read today’s post and see how pondering these words can not only teach us about many beginnings, but also help build our faith.

Our Beginnings

     When we think about beginnings, we may think about our firsts or even our ancestry.  There are many firsts in our life.  Some firsts might be, our first day of school, our first day of a new job, or our first time trying something.  No matter what it is we do, say, write, hear, or feel, there is always a first.  We have many beginnings in our life.

     Our beginning has to do with our conception, our infancy, and our childhood.  It is the time in our life when we are new to this life and new to this world.  We lack many things, like experience, knowledge, and distrust.  It is when we embrace things with wonder and embrace the people and things of the world with trust.  We rely on others to teach us and do things for us.

     Researching our ancestry is another way to look into our beginnings.  We are acknowledging that our beginning and our life and our beginnings don’t come from ourselves, but from those who come before us.  Our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents help pave the way for us.  They have made decisions that affect our life, such as where we live and what kind of life we live.  The genes in our body are made up of those of our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. 

     Some of our beginnings are new beginnings and times of renewal.  The most important new beginning is when we give up our old worldly life for a new heavenly life.  It is a time when we devote our life to God and to His ways.  We become a Christian taking up our crosses and following Jesus.

Bible Beginnings

     The Bible starts with the words, “In the beginning”.  They are not only the first three words in the Genesis.  They are also the first three words in another book of the Bible.  Do you know it?

     Genesis is the first book of the Bible.  It describes first creations, first lives, first people, first sins, first deaths, first starts, and even first renewals.  We can learn quite a bit from these firsts. 

     Another first of the Bible is the Old Testament.  The Old Testament is the first section of the Bible.  It contains not only first creations, but also first teachings, lifestyles, and promises.  The Old Testament might be difficult to understand at first, however, it helps us to understand the New Testament more fully.

     Let’s look at the first verse of the Bible.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
                                                            Genesis 1:1 (KJV)

As we can see, it tells us that “God created the heaven and the earth”.  Nothing or nobody existed, except God.  Then, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 KJV)

     Genesis 1 describes about the creation of the world.  It describes the order of things and importance of creation.  If we hold onto the truth of God’s Word, we won’t be swayed by human theories of world creation. 

     This brings me to the other book that starts with the words, “in the beginning”.  Do you know it?  I will give you a hint.  It is in the New Testament.  That book is John.
 
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
                                                                                    John 1:1-3 (KJV)
 
See?  There are those words again, “In the beginning”.  A different author in a different century starts his book with the same words as the author of Genesis.  Again, we see that God was the only being before the creation of the world and that God created the world. 

The Beginning of Faith Building

     Now, we can meditate and pray about what we know about “in the beginning” and see how it is part of the foundation of our faith.  We can see how faith grow and strengthen through prayer and meditation.

     Do you ever think about the miracle of creation?  Can you create something from void and nothingness? No, of course not.  God can and did.  I believe that the more we ponder that fact, the more we meditate and pray about that fact, the more we acknowledge God’s power and see the gifts and miracles He has given us.  We can then acknowledge how small and humble we are in such a big creation and how much we owe and rely on God for our very life.  We can also see how very much God loves us and how much we should love Him in return.

     God in His infinite love and awesomeness created a world full of life and delicate intricacies.  There is a balance of life cycles that support and intertwine with each other in beautiful and miraculous ways.  The world is full of give and take, life and death, good and bad.  Yet, in the beginning, the bad didn’t exist until original sin.  It is just fascinating to ponder!

     There is so much in the world that God created out of nothingness.  We can’t even imagine all the plants, animals, and substances that God has created.  However, God knows them all.  God is all knowing.  We could research, learn, and experience as much as we possibly could before the end of time and we would only know a small percentage of what God knows.

     When we ponder all these things we begin to build and strengthen our faith.  We can also help build the faith of others.  Unbelievers or new believers sometimes ask, “How do you know God exists?”  What is your answer to that question?  Mine?  How can I not believe in God when I see, meditate, and pray about all of His creations?  Just look around you.  See the plants, animals, food, medicine, clouds, land, water, air, light, and life that God created.  See the life around you.  See the awesomeness of all creation.  Nobody can create like that, not your or I or any living being, except God.  And, it all started from nothingness, in the beginning.

Coloring Page

Feel free to download a Genesis 1:1 coloring page.  Enjoy!  (Let me know if you enjoy coloring pages.)

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Hi friends!  I'm Jodi!

Sharer of...

Faith, Education, Creativity, and Encouragement!

     I am a life-long Christian and learner, as well as an avid Bible reader.  I enjoy sharing my faith and creating products and services that will help you in your Christian journey.  God bless!