It All Starts Here... (Genesis 1:1)

 

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. - Genesis 1:1 (NKJV)

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and FOR Him. - Colossians 1:16 (NKJV)

Notice the Bible doesn't start with John 3:16. Before we can understand that "God so loved the world," He wanted us to understand some proper parameters. He created the heavens and the earth. That's Bible-speak for "He created EVERYTHING!" To know why that's important, put it in personal terms.

Have you ever created anything? A piece of art? A sheet of music? A delicious dish? A poem or story? A structure you built? Once you have something in mind, consider the following:

When you created that item, who determined its purpose for existing? You or it? 

When you created that item, who determined its worth? You or it? 

When you created that item, who set the rules of its existence? You or it?

When you created that item, did you create it for your pleasure, or its pleasure? 

The same is true with God and His creation of everything in heaven and on earth. With just this one short sentence that Moses wrote as an intro to the entire Bible's story, we learn the foundation of what's true about our lives:
1) Our purpose isn't something we have to seek; it's something that's given to us by our Creator.
2) Our worth isn't something we have to prove or earn through our accomplishments; it's something bestowed upon us from our Creator. 

Those two truths we really like, because we understand they fill our lives with value and purpose, regardless of whether we're recognized by others or whether we feel like we score high enough on the scales of accomplishment. The next two realities, we don't always appreciate as much.

3) We don't come up with the rules of how we should live our lives. The rules of our existence have been set for us.
4) We are not living to pursue our own pleasure or happiness. Our pleasure is to be found in pursuing His. We have been created FOR Him. 

We fight against those last two because they take us out of the driver's seat, and they keep the GPS of our lives squarely in His hands. But we fight against them to our own peril. It's as if I crafted a beautiful china cup to use for drinking my morning coffee, but it keeps insisting on being a hammer instead. If I ever let that china cup that I created for my purposes have its own way, pursue its own version of happiness, it's going to get smashed into a bazillion pieces! Too late, it will realize it would have been so much more satisfied just going along with the reason I created it.

In the same way, we cause so much destruction in trying to write our own rules and determine our own paths. How much joy and satisfaction comes from living according to the pleasures and purposes given us by our Creator!

Dear Heavenly Father, I believe you created me. And I believe You had a reason for doing so. Give me the guidance today to live according to Your pleasure and pursue Your purposes. In Jesus' Name, Amen.