Beginning

January 1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

-John 1:1, NRSV

The beginning.  Just two little words hold such promise.  The visual for me is a clean white board.  Or that blank page in the book just before chapter 1 begins.  Turning that blank page always causes a ripple of excitement for this avid reader, excitement to start the story, to dive into a pleasurable pastime.  

In the beginning, the world was like that blank whiteboard, clean and waiting to be filled.  For God, maybe it was like the blank page in a book.  Maybe He was excited to breathe into existence  the story that would fill the pages.  

Human sin, however, caused the story to take a different turn, and God sent His son to give us a new beginning, a fresh start.  He erased everything on the white board and made it clean again.  His hope and love for the world caused Him not to give up on us, but to give us a second chance.   This gives ME hope!  Hope because I know God loves me that much, because I know that my acceptance of Him has secured a place in His family, because I know my mistakes are wiped clean, because my story is still being written.

On this first day of the year, let’s focus on that.  Focus on the story to be written over the next twelve months.  Let’s fill the pages with hope, with good, with love, with praise for the giver of new beginnings.