Every milestone in life brings a beginning and an ending. The ending of the year 2017 is a milestone; the start of the year 2018 is also a milestone. No matter what, each beginning is a resurrection of hope and a mark of grace.
At the beginning of every year, I challenge myself to read different translations of the Bible or use different Bible reading plans. This year, I chose a plan that would go through the Old Testament once and the New Testament twice. In January, the plan begins in the first book of the Old Testament, Genesis, and also the gospel of Luke from the New Testament. Thousands of years elapsed between these two books, so reading them together brings new insights and experiences.
Genesis records the beginning of a beautiful world but it does not last long. As the fall and sin of man enters the world, the perfect Garden of Eden is ended. From chapter 3 onward, it is a chilling history of fratricide, promiscuous evil, and sinful mankind. Despite the bleakness, around each corner there is God’s saving hand at work. God prepared animal skins for Adam and Eve to wear, giving hope in the midst of hopelessness. In chapter 12 God makes a covenant with Abraham, so that this seemingly hopeless old man is given great hope. He is promised that he will be the father of many nations, to inherit lands, and through him, nations will be blessed. The whole book is an interwoven story of man’s hopelessness and God bringing hope. The start of hopelessness is also the start of a new hope.
The start of the Gospel of Luke is even more so the peak of man’s hopelessness and hope. After the last book of the Old Testament, God no longer spoke through his prophets. In a silent and lonely world, humankind waited for a new hope, and this happened in the small town of Bethlehem. The birth of Jesus Christ brought about a great hope and saving grace.
This was the end of hopelessness and the beginning of hope. Every time I read this end and beginning, I know that no matter what the future brings, hope is always ahead. The God that brings us hope has been telling us this since the beginning of Genesis.