The beginning is fun! This first week of January marks the beginning of a new year. It’s full of fresh goals, resolutions, and high expectations. Maybe Sunday was your first day, your beginning. Maybe you ran a mile or started a new diet. If that’s you, then welcome to day three. Does it feel like the beginning is over? Answer “yes” if your muscles are sore and choosing to work out today is just a little harder than it was yesterday. Guess what? Tomorrow is not going to be any easier.
It’s fitting that we start our 1-year Bible reading with Genesis which starts with “In the beginning, God.” Everything is great, just as God made it. Adam is there, Eve is with him, and love is in the air. I’m guessing that being naked and unafraid was pretty great too (Genesis 2:25). Then, all of the sudden, the beginning was over.
In the very next sentence, just two short chapters into Genesis, the story turns. Complications arise. A crafty serpent appears creating all kinds of turmoil. The fun is over! Now, the ground is cursed. Thorns and thistles make our work hard. We have to sweat to get results. It’s not just hard work that created resistance. Selfishness and anger interfere too, creating strife and animosity toward each other. By Genesis 4:8, we witness the first murder. Can’t we just go back to the fun part? Back to the beginning?
The answer to that question is YES. Yes we can! Luke 9:23 says it perfectly. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” That is the way we begin every day as new creations. Will you do it for one more day?