"In the beginning God..."
That's all. Just those words. They speak such peace and comfort into my life. You see, there was only God in the beginning. He started it off.
When I find myself starting a new relationship, often I have to maintain it. Or if I start a group project, I somehow become the group leader. And if I initiate those things, I often have be the one that ends them. Sometimes that means ending the relationship, or the one who keeps everyone on task to finish the project. Starting something can be tiring. And if you are the starter, you will most likely be the maintainer and the finisher as well.
But not this time. Those first 4 words tell it all. We know that He was in the beginning, and those words prepare us for what God is going to initiate. Therefore, He started it all off. We did nothing. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures God called people by name. He initiated the relationships, the people did not. And God maintains them by guiding them and loving them, just as He does with me. Granted, while God maintains everything, I still have my part. I don't just sit and twiddle my thumbs. I love Him back. I love because He first loved me (1 John 4:19). And when my time goes to an end, He will end it, not me.
According to Philippians 1:6, I didn't start it, I don't maintain it, and I won't finish it.
"He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
