In The Beginning

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)

We celebrate Jesus as God with us, but do we recognize that God has always been with us? Since the beginning of time God has infused the world with God's self. From the dew in the early morning to the uniqueness of a fingerprint, we and all of creation are stamped with God's approval - not because we are perfect but because we are loved. We are made in the image of the Love that will not let us go. As we struggle with each other over what is right and what is good, we would do well to remember, with humility, that only One is righteous.

We can be sure that the flawed world of 2019 will still be flawed in 2020. And we can be equally sure that the perfect God who carried us through years past will not put us down in the years to come. On the wings of this year ride challenges and celebrations, hopes and trepidation. All are life. As we anticipate the good that we long for in this new year, we can trust the One who is the calm in the midst of chaos to hold us firm when the winds of life blow around us.

May the Light of God-with-us shine in us and through us all year to illuminate the path to wholeness - the path back to the One who's been with us from the beginning.

11 He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; 13 moreover, it is God's gift that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in all their toil. (Ecclesiastes 3:11-13)