Back to the Beginning

Did you know that the story of redemption didn’t begin at the cross? It actually started with one simple phrase: “In the beginning…” What we see in our world today is a far cry from what God intended. But even when He spoke the earth into being, our all-knowing God, knew that what He made would disrupt the beauty He created. So He made a plan. He made a way. Even from the beginning.

1. God created Eden.

In the beginning, God created something beautiful. He stepped into nothingness and breathed life. He created the land and water, sunrises and sunsets, the moon and stars, animals, fish, and birds. Everything He created He deemed good (Genesis 1).

In the beginning was perfection. God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:26-28). He created Him for a relationship (Genesis 3:8-9).

God looked at all He had made and called it good. When we look at ourselves, other people, or creation as anything less than created by God, we are misunderstanding His character. We are misunderstanding what He intended. And we aren’t owning where it all went wrong.

2. We messed it up.

Cancer, disease, disability, suffering, death – these are things God never intended in Eden. When Adam and Eve sinned, the first creature had to be killed as a covering (Genesis 3:21). No longer would the animals live in harmony. No longer could man walk with God as he had before (Genesis 3:22). Work became a hardship instead of a gift (Genesis 3:17-19). Having and raising a family became difficult (Genesis 3:16). The relationship between man and woman became a challenge to operate in the way God first intended. Life became hard.

We messed it up. When we blame God for suffering, we are misunderstanding His character. More importantly, we are misunderstanding our role. This is never what He intended. We wanted our own way. We wanted to be more like God. And God allowed it. It broke the relationship with Him. But He made a way to restore all things.

3. He planned for a Savior.

Even in Genesis 3:15, God hinted at a Savior who would crush the serpent (the devil) one day. There was a consequence for sin. Just like the animal who was killed for clothing once Adam and Eve realized they were naked, so would Jesus one day become a sacrifice to cover our sin. Even as childbearing became difficult, God planned for a Christ child who would come and redeem. We see God’s plan for Jesus in Matthew 1, and it dates all the way back to the Old Testament to descendants of the couple who once walked in the garden with Him.

From the beginning, Jesus has created, redeemed, and restored. His plan for what He has made is clear throughout Scripture. One day, He will return and make all things new and gather to Himself those whose hearts trusted in Him (Revelation 21:1-5).