Watch/Listen
Act 1: Eternal Love
Brian Mashburn
January 25, 2009
Audio Player
Act 1: The God's
There are two "In the beginning..." statements in Scripture. The one in Genesis 1 does not enter the Story until Act III. To go back to Act I, you must go to John 1. (Epic)
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning." (John 1:1-2)
So what is John describing in this verse? What does it tell us about the true beginning? What does it tell us about God?
In the beginning, before the beginning of this created world, there was God. Jesus Christ, according to John, was both with God and was God at the same time.
So before our world's beginning, God was. And God was a relationship. And that relationship was one.
Why is this so important to the Story? To us?
Simple. You won't get your bearings in this Story until you realize that the Story is not about you. You are important, invaluable, loved, and have a crucial role to play, but this story is about something... Someone... bigger than you.
Once that is understood and accepted, you can get appropriately excited that the bigger Someone has invited you into something much larger than yourself.
Act I teaches us that there is a God, that He is a loving relationship of Oneness, that we are made in that image, and that He invites us into Himself, into relationship, into Life.
This is why everyone longs to belong to something. To someone. It explains the desire to marry. Whether in a family, group, club, school or church, we crave relationship. And it is because we are the image bearers of the God who is a Relationship within Himself. A Trinity.
Many mistakes, worries, damaging decisions, self-defeating conclusions, and exhausting strivings come to people who think this life is all about them. But much healing, understanding, wisdom, contentment, joy, and righteous living comes to those who know that there is an eternal, unstoppable love that they can count on and have been welcomed to participate in.