Genesis 1:1  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. (NKJV).

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  This is the opening line of the first book of the Holy Bible.  I would think that everyone at some time asks themselves the questions, “Who am I, where did I come from, what is my purpose in life, and is there life after death?”  One thing is certain, however.  None of us had anything to do with being born and we only have limited control over how long we remain alive.  In short, something or someone has to be in control.  There has to be more meaning to life than to be born, toil under the sun all your life and then die.

King Solomon in Ecclesiastes says “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity”…”What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun?  One generation passes away, and another generation comes”…”And there is nothing new under the sun”…”It has already been in ancient time before us.  There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come by those who will come after”…”Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind.  There was no profit under the sun”…

”Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me.  And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool?”…”I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever.  Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it”…”Consider the work of God; for who can make straight what He has made crooked?  In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider:  Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other”…

”Truly this only I have found; that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes”…”No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit and no one has power in the day of death”…I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him”…”then I saw all the work of God”…”Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.  For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.”

There is a reason why the Bible opens with the statement that time and creation start with God.  God is eternal.  In Revelation 1:8, Jesus declares that He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, who was, who is and who is to come, the Almighty.  Revelation 22 adds that He is the First and the Last.  In 2 Timothy 1:9, Paul tells us that God “ saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.”  The Psalmist is Psalm 90:1-2 declares:  Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.  2 Before the mountains were brought forth, Or ever You had formed the earth and the world, Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

In the beginning God created, but more importantly God existed.  All matter, all knowledge, all wisdom and all life come from God.  We have no purpose apart from God’s purpose.  We have no life apart from God.  So, what is God’s purpose for our life?

God created us to have life and to have it more abundantly.  In John 10:10 Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  This is summed up in Revelation 21:3-4, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

In Revelation 21:6-7, Jesus said, “I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.”  Revelation 22:1-5 sums up God’s purpose as follows:  “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

So, in short, we were each created to dwell with, love and serve God and through this we shall reign forever and ever with God.  Thus, God created us because He loves us and wants to bless us with the inheritance of all God has as sons of God.  1 John 4:7-11 explains it this way:  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Apart from God, there is no life.  There is only death.  God wants us to love Him and to love our neighbor.  Jesus summed it up nicely in Matthew 22:37-39:  37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

With this understanding then, how shall we live our lives?  With obedience to God and with Justice.  1 Samuel 15:22-23 says: “to obey is better than sacrifice, for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.”  Micah 6: 8 says “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”  Thus, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”  Proverbs 9:10.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  God is eternal and is the beginning of all things and the end of all things.  Thus, God’s message to mankind in Genesis 1 is “I AM”.  We must worship Him in spirit and truth.  Without God there is no life.  Without God we have no purpose.  Without God there is no redemption.  Without God there is nothing.

With this established, I will next turn to an examination of Creation in my next article.