Today’s reading is Rev 21:6 “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.”
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created…
John 1:1 In the beginning the Word already existed…
1John 1:1 The One who existed from the beginning…
Rev 22:13 The beginning and the end…
In the beginning God already existed. This statement is equally comforting and mind blowing to me. Before the oceans and the land, before the sun and the stars, before people, He already existed. Any and every marker of time you choose, He was there before. I cannot understand and I can drive myself crazy trying to, so I move to sitting with the comfort that comes from knowing He was there for everything I can think of. He created, He witnessed, He knows, He designed, and He had a plan that included you and me. Our world is not spinning randomly. There is purpose, a plan. We are known intimately by our maker and His greatest joy comes when we want to know Him. “To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of life.” He wants to share Himself with us. He wants us to desire relationship with Him.
I am sitting on a beach writing this post. There is a family with three little girls playing near me. The parents are sitting in chairs seeking some rest and relaxation while keeping eyes on their children. The oldest girl (5 or 6) is a swimmer. She is out in the water jumping waves and testing her skills and bravery in this new environment. She wants desperately for someone she loves to experience this new world with her. She knows instinctively that she will have more fun if she is not alone. Her sisters are too little. They don’t have the maturity to handle what she can in those waves. Her parents are tired and wishing the kids would entertain themselves. So “little girl” is alone in her “fun”. She is so desperate for camaraderie, she is swimming over to another family whose grandparents are playing with the kids. “Little girl” is trying to weasel her way into another family so she can fully enjoy this new ocean experience. God built us this way. He knows how much richer and fuller life is when shared in relationship with Him and others. He is this way. (Remember we are made in His image) He wants us to share our lives with Him. He wants to be included in our joys and accomplishments. He wants to be with us in the boring and mundane and He wants to walk beside us through the hurts, pain and frustration of life. He wants to share all of life with us. For Him, what else is there? He can create anything He wants. He has the power to make every being adore and praise Him. If everyone and everything is created and commanded to worship and praise Him, what fulfillment does that bring Him? This is why our choosing Him brings Him so much joy. We are relating to Him because we WANT relationship with Him. One of His created beings, with a free will choosing to relate to Him is meaningful. It brings Him joy to be noticed, understood, known, and chosen. Does he need us for anything? Not at all…He is able to do anything, but He delights in our choices to include Him and grow in relationship with Him. He created us for this purpose. He is hoping we will all choose Him. From the beginning this has been His plan. The Beginning…
By the way, before I finished writing these words, “little girl” talked her tall, strong, daddy out of his restful chair and into her ocean adventure with her. Her laughter and excitement feel like a gift to me after pondering this topic today!