God's Love: Part I, "The Creator..."

“In the beginning…” Universally, we know what to expect when we read or hear those words. A story is about to unfold. Instantly we know there is more to follow. It is also true that we must hear and grasp the beginning of a story in order to fully comprehend its middle and end.

                   

For the next few weeks, we will explore God’s love from beginning to end, from before time, to the end of time. Given the title above, you may be thinking, “So what does creation, or God as the Creator, have to do with God’s love?”

Most every translation of the Bible begins with the phrase, “In the beginning.” We tend to think of that as the start of everything, even God Himself. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Obviously God already existed, but was He alone?

You may have heard of God as three persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. When God created the first man, he referred to Himself as more than one when He said, “Let us make man in our image, to be like us.” (Genesis 1:26a NLT). Colossians chapter one also refers to Jesus’ existence with God at the time of Creation. Before the heavens and the earth, or anything else we know of were created, a fellowship with a shared mission already existed.

Picture the opening scene of The Last of the Mohicans. A deep forest is quiet, when all of a sudden a man comes racing through the scene. Then another man appears, followed by yet another. They run through thickets, zig-zagging around trees and jumping over streams. Not a word is spoken, nor are words required. It is understood they share a great intimacy and are on a shared mission; and that something mysterious and very important is going on. (John Eldredge, Epic 19-20)

It is out of this kind of fellowship that we were created, in His image. We are invited up into His larger story as His most precious allies and friends. By design, our creation reveals that we have been asked to play a part in the greatest love story of all time.

To be continued...