Years ago I participated in a small collegiate group which gathered each morning to study the Bible. What began as a small, shy body of students grew into a fellowship of intimate friendships; these friends and I would eventually spend hours at a time together in prayer and seeking the Scriptures. We were awed by the power of the Spirit among us who seemed to turn the very pages of the books in our hands while at the same time whispering truth personally and communally to our hearts. I distinctly remember the morning we began reading the first chapter of John.
“In the beginning was the Word…” a voice began. Silence fell, then another voice rang out the first words of Genesis, “In the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth…” Voices parlayed back and forth through the next few sentences of each book, and the import rested on us all. Jesus is the Word who created everything. He is the true Light who spoke light into existence. His life–now resurrected, ever eternal–is the light of mankind.
The darkness shall never put Him out.
_______________________________
Today to begin this series we are simply going to meditate on the opening words of the Gospel of John set against the backdrop of the opening words of Genesis. These are two of the most captivating first lines in all of literature, and some of the most dramatic of all Scripture. They pulse with energy. Some say that the universe pulses with the energy left over from the Big Bang; in like thought I believe these words pulse with the energy burst forth upon Creation. In imitating the cadence of Genesis, John’s gospel strikingly intimates a hitherto unveiled truth: the very Word of God, in essence the Creator himself, is this Jesus Christ to whom you are about to be introduced.
Let’s meet him, shall we?
_______________________________
In the beginning was the Word…
In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth…
And the Word was with God, and the Word was God…
And the earth was without form and void and darkness hovered over the face of the deep,
He was in the beginning with God.
And the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters.
Through him all things were made, without him nothing was made that has been made.
And God said, “let there be light…”
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
…and there was light.
The Light shines in the darkness,
God saw that the light was good.
And the darkness has never put it out.
What perfect, powerful words for the beginning of Advent. “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.”
I’m excited to follow along. Thank you, Harmony.
I am happy to read about this new venture of yours! I have never seen these verses side by side and it IS beautiful. Yay!
I love that you are writing “Wednesdays in the Word!” Count me in for this weekly insight into the Word…the infallible, pulsing, enlightening, personal, powerful Word of God. I too, have never seen these scriptures side by side like this – it is very moving. Can’t wait until next Wednesday!