Who am I? What is the meaning of life? Why is there something rather than nothing? Does God exist? Why is there suffering in the world?
People have debated these questions since time immemorial. The entire field of philosophy has sought to come up with answers to these big questions.
In order to understand who we are and why we’re here we need to go back to the beginning. In fact those are the very words that the Bible begins with – ‘in the beginning’. In the Hebrew these words serve as both a title and a clue as to what the book is about. Something which our English word “Genesis’ seeks to emulate (meaning ‘origin’ or ‘beginning’).
Genesis is all about beginnings. The first eleven chapters deal with the origins of the world, the human race, sin and evil. The remainder of the book deals with the beginning of God’s redemptive story through Abraham and his offspring. The book of Genesis thus introduces us to the most important themes of the Bible (and life!). And chapters 1-11 in particular set up the rest of the biblical story for us.
So embark with me on a voyage of discovery as we go back to the beginning…and explore the depths of God’s love. The height of his patience. And the breadth of his grace to us.
Chris Ramsbottom – April 2017
