In the beginning

The very first sentence opens up with a declaration of a fixed point from which all other points derive. "In the beginning" creates that fixed point. If you believe in a fixed point of reference, as I do, then this could be your fixed point of reference. I have chosen to make it mine and tune out all the other interpretations and possibilities.

Immediately after the declaration of the fact of a fixed point of reference, the bible begins to establish an "order" out of that fixed point, and the order is created by God. And not only is the order created by God, but the definition of the order is also God created. He created "light" and "darkness" and did not rest there, but utilizing the characteristics of light and darkness in a temporal cycle, gave us the definitions of them as well, in "day" and "night."

So, we have the establishment of a fixed point of reference, a creation of order, and a creation of the definition of that order, all stemming from God. The rest of the reading is obviously important, but it follows the same projection.

It is at the end of the very first section that we come to one of the major literary clashes of legalism versus non-legalism. Is all this truly happening in a "day?" Or, as some have said, are we supposed to loosen up the definition of a "day" and define it as an epoch? And what about all the scientific evidence of the earth's age at 4 billion years old?

For me, this is the first stumbling block of legalistic interpretative study of the bible, and can start one down the road toward which Derrida's nihilistic deconstruction tends. Was this a "day?" How could it possibly be? Yet if it is not truly a "day" as we know it, then does the biblical use of the word "day" undermine the belief system established in the first sentence, taking away, in a retrograde manner, a belief in a fixed point of reference altogether, leaving one grasping at nothing in a cold, Godless universe? Or does the use of the word "day" and the ability to disbelieve in it as a literal "day," but a desire to still believe in a fixed point of reference in this universe, then give the reader license to interpret the bible less legalistically, resulting in the bible becoming little better than a Chinese menu of "good ideas," where we can take what we want and leave what we don't want?

To me, the essential crux of belief is summed up all in the first paragraph. The establishment of a fixed point of reference, the acknowledgment of God, the establishment of order, the establishment of "definition," and finally, the possible undermining of all of those by the use of the word "day." That struggle, that yin/yang of belief/disbelief is, to me, a core part of any faith journey. The behind-the-scenes creation of that belief/disbelief system in the first paragraph sets up a tension that heightens one's senses to it's applicability in our own lives. I never know what's right, and it's hard for me to hang my hat on something that creates its own yin/yang internal struggle. But I do know that there is "right" and the bible is a living, breathing document and in its own struggles, my aching heart finds solace. I don't have to know, all the time, but I can have faith. Faith in the beginning...

The New Testament reading mattered to my heart very much today. I am struggling with something very personal, and I prayed hard for guidance today. Sometimes, something crystallizes so clearly, it's like a light being shone directly into your eyes. When Joseph, ...being just a man, decided to break the engagement quietly... an angel came to him and told him to go ahead with his marriage.

God acts in our lives, and He tells us to do things, things that all our friends may tell us not to do. Things that we can convince ourselves not to do, because they don't make any rational sense. But at the end, we are part of His plan, and we have to follow where God tells us to go. If God is speaking in our ear, then we must follow what He says. Not following what He says separates us from Him, which is ultimately sadness for all of us. Is this just wishful thinking? Or do I listen to God and find something at the end of it all which is much more than I could ever attain doing things "my way?" If I am being pointed down a thorny path, and told to go there by God, knowing that there is a good chance I will fall, fail, and run away, do I start that journey?