Everything Begins Here
What comes to your mind when you think about God?
The idea of God.
This is not just an important idea.
It is seminal.
It is a great divide that is the headwater for the life we all must and will choose.
It determines better than everything else how our life, and every life, will turn out.
Let me repeat for emphasis. This singular point — that God is the beginning of all of life — will flow down into every other life choice.
So let’s follow the two possible options.
On the one hand, we believe God is first and over all.
This results in a desire to know more about him — what he is like, what motivates him and the rest. On this side, people want to know about prayer and how to please him.
Initially, this can be a motivation out of fear. Later, assuming you find the God of the Bible, motivations will deepen and transform into gratitude and love, but this is well down one’s life path and involves maturity and the assumption of greater responsibility for one’s self, family, and neighbors.
Now the other hand. God is a myth and so of no critical or primary importance to life.
It might be worth giving lip service to the idea of god in order to get along with true believers, but when it comes to making important decisions he is not in any of the calculations.
Fortunately for society, legal systems are linked to, and morality derived from, the true-believer side — the side that does not allow people to do whatever they want if it crosses over into the (and catch this next word) sacred rights of others.
This is what Jesus meant when he said his followers, those who truly believe in God, are both salt and light. Their presence preserves society, just like curing meat with salt stops spoilage.
Light and darkness therefore begin with this first decision about God and what he means personally to everyone able to understand and make clear choices for or against him.
In the beginning, God . . .
Genesis 1:1a
In [Jesus] was life, and the life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:4-5 (ESV)
You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.