In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

Let’s start again at the beginning.

New Year’s day is a unique opportunity in the human experience because, once a year, everyone gets a fresh start. One chapter is closed and another begins.

You may wish you could go back and re-do your failures and mistakes, and hopefully avoid experiencing the same sorrows and disappointments. But the next season will not be “your best year ever” simply by trying harder or even smarter. 

Now what I’m about to say will seem obvious, because it probably is. But why do we ignore what is obvious and what will help us the most?

Why? Because we don’t internalize what is fundamentally and unchangeably true.

It’s all about God.

Everything begins and ends with God. Repeat after me, “In the beginning, GOD …”

VIDEO

You can be sure that God’s heart and plan for you is to bless you far beyond what you can hope or possibly imagine. This is despite whatever evidence you may have experienced so far to the contrary.

So, the best place to reset your life and begin again is to … well, start from the beginning.

And that is with God.

“In the beginning, GOD …”

God at the beginning. God at the end. God firmly in the center. God firmly in control. God as your pilot, captain and commander. God as your leader. The Spirit of God as your compass. The Word of God as your true north. 

Kazillions of people on New Year’s day will open their Bibles and read these first words of scripture from Genesis chapter one.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. Genesis 1:1-5

In the rhythm of the Christian year, we reflect on the story of Jesus. New Year’s day, January 1st, is also the eighth day of Christmas, or Christmastide.

Now hear the echo of Genesis 1 in the opening words of John’s Gospel about Jesus.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. John 1:1-4

These two texts , Genesis 1 and John 1 orient us in the meta-narrative of the Christian faith, the Bible, as the story of God.

The Bible is a big book with a lot of information, and it’s all about God. It relates a world-view, a way of explaining who God is, what He is like, the way the world works, and the meaning of all life and history.

Everything we need to know about living life to the fullest is found in God through Jesus Christ. But how do we get there? Begin with God. 

No matter what day of the year it is, you can always begin again with Him through Jesus Christ.

“In the beginning, GOD …”

Let’s Pray:

Lord God who in the beginning created the heavens and the earth, may we orient our lives around your word, your ways, and your will. Jesus be the center of my life! Help me begin this year with God,  seeking you first and foremost. I commit this next season to your purposes and for your glory. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.