“In the beginning when God made the heavens and the earth…

Genesis 1:1

If you visit the ODW Corporate offices in Columbus, Ohio you will be able to do a scavenger hunt throughout the offices. Shortly when you walk into the space you’ll see a wall with the logo and some branding on it that celebrates the founding of the company back in 1971. Secured into the floor in front of that wall are a number of penny’s. But, you can invest some time searching throughout the space to find the rest of the penny’s—71 in total. Why? Because the founder of the company, my father Bob Ness, is well known for lots of brilliant sayings. One of them is, “Count your penny’s. But make sure your penny’s count.” This wall and scavenger hunt is a way to honor and remember the year that the company started. 

If, like my dad, you’ve started an adventure there was probably a moment that you can point to and say—this is it. A legal document was signed. You showed up for your first day of school. You held hands as someone pronounced you husband and wife. Your birth certificate has your start day. Most things in this world have a starting point. Earlier this year was a starting point for one of my daughter’s as she received a government card with her picture on it that declared she was fit to drive a car on the road. Things have a starting point.

But, those starting points are not always the beginning. In fact, they rarely are the beginning. Something is already happening before things get started.

For my daughter, she had lots of time behind the wheel with me giving her directions. Husbands and wives typically start as boyfriends and girlfriends—and before that they often start with butterflies. You don’t just show up on the first day of class. You get the supplies, the outfit, the application, the pre-college visits. There is a whole lot that goes before the first day of class. And, certainly, a lot of leg work is well underway before you create a business.

In other words, beginnings are not the beginning. Something comes before it. 

The same is true for us. The same is true for this creation. 

“In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth…” is how our bible starts. It is the first phrase that tells of God’s creative and redeeming work for you—for all of us. But, we would be foolish if we thought that these words marked the start of God’s work. It began long before. In fact, it is impossible to measure how long before—not because no one was there to measure it (though that is true)—but because there has never been an instant when God wasn’t around. There has never been a moment when the Holy Trinity wasn’t dancing in the holy and perfect relationship of love and joy. God has always been. God always will be.

But, in the beginning, our Triune God decides to do something beyond the perfect union that exists within the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This love pours out on you. On creation. Something was happening before the beginning. And that something is glorious.

The first word of the Bible, in Hebrew, is “beginning.” And, like in English, the Hebrew word for beginning begins with B—the second letter of the English and Hebrew alphabet. The first letter in Hebrew is often translated as an A. But, in the Hebrew language, it is often silent. It doesn’t have a strong sound. Scholars have often thought that this is a significant theological statement in the first letters of the Bible. The absent and silent A isn’t there. But, it serves as a placeholder for all that has transpired before the first act of creation. It points to all that exists before God graciously creates. It is a way of celebrating the perfect union that exists within our Triune God. 

Even at the start, something was already long underway.

But, there’s more.

The letter B, pronounced Bet in Hebrew, signifies and means house. It is why Bethlehem means “House of Bread” (Lehem means bread). The letter B is the house, or container, that holds all the goodness of God that pours out as the Lord creates. He pours it out into you. Into us. You are the recipient of God’s abundant love, grace, goodness, hope, joy, life, and forgiveness. He pours it into you.

In the very first letter of the Bible the very story of your salvation is held. Isn’t that amazing! God gives you a glimpse of it in the first pen strokes of all that He is doing. Why? Because the Lord loves you. And He pours into you. And He wants the very best for you. 

You know the saying, Anyone can make a house, but it takes love to make a home. This is made true for you from the beginning. Even as it points to what take places before the beginning. Our Father’s love has been yours from before the start. 

Hold onto this truth when times are hard and you think you are near your end. The one who put so much thought and planning into the very first pen strokes of the Bible—how much more does the Lord think about you? Infinitely more. Infinitely!

Think about a specific time when you received God’s goodness into your soul. Pray with thanksgiving for this moment.