1 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.
New Years' Eve is right around the corner. Time for a fresh start, a new beginning. And also, a great time to reflect on the very beginning. The first day of eternity, when God created the heavens and earth. I absolutely love the creation story, regardless of whether is is literal or figurative, or some hybrid of the two.
To me, it is amazing that God knew exactly how things were going to play out, all the way from the Garden of Eden to the Garden of Gethsemane. God knew exactly how sin would enter the world, and exactly who would take away our sin. He had the power to change it, to make life easy for us, and to save His son, yet He allowed things to happen the way they did. He did this as a gift to us. Life is a gift, from the very beginning, every setback as well as every blessing. And Him allowing it to happen this way is a supreme act of love.
As we have a new beginning coming up for 2011, we also have an opportunity to chose supreme acts of love. Love for God, love for each other, love for friends, and as Jesus taught, love for enemies. While I do not make New Years' Resolutions, I do want to set goals for the upcoming year. One of those goals is going to be to take advantage of a fresh start, and try to carry out acts of love more often, whether it is in the form of cooking Hubby's favorite meal, or leaving words of encouragement for a stranger to find.
I will undoubtedly fail with some of my goals, and God will love me anyway. Because that is what God's grace is all about. Grace was with us in the beginning, and every new beginning since then.
Enjoy your fresh start of a new year, and celebrate it as a beginning.
