Perhaps you have heard the saying, ‘what goes around, comes around’. While it has it roots in being a metaphor, it also is an accurate description of the law of physics. A circle is a 360 degree line that has a continuous curve, that when traced or followed will originate back to the starting point.
In the world we live in and the fast paced lifestyles that flourish all around us, it is sometimes hard to imagine that there was in fact a beginning. And yet the evidence is clear, that our very existence, and the entire creation had a starting point.
We all have come to expect a beginning of any endeavor we undertake, whether a new school, a new job, a new baby, or new spouse. And so it is with our spiritual lives and the Christian calling.
Do you remember your beginning? Would you be surprised if I told you that if you have said yes to the calling of God, that your beginning was way before the foundation of the world?
Ephesians 1: 3,4
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love . .”
Mind boggling, isn’t it! That my friend is the kind of God we are associated with. The kind that can and has predestined you and I to the glorious love and life in Jesus Christ.
If we have been Christians for many years, then we may be all too familiar with the guiding principles and doctrines of the faith. As a matter of fact we may be so comfortable in knowing what we know, that over the years some of the finer points may have faded from memory, or even worse, faded from practical application in our lives.
And it is the slow but subtle erosion of basic principles and doctrines that can easily get us off track and on a path that we no longer recognize. I have experienced this in my own life, and was so surprised to see just how far off the narrow path I had wandered.
It is the same exact challenge that we all face on a daily basis, and let us not forget that our enemy and adversary, the devil, has used this tactic on Christians and humans in general since the beginning, even in the Garden of Eden.
If and when he can get believers to doubt, question or speculate about what God says, then we are vulnerable to the constant drip of false doctrine, or man made doctrine, which currently saturates this world.
So what are we to do when we find ourselves drifting in a sea of uncertainty, regarding what we believe the christian life is all about? As referenced in the heading, we need to come back to the beginning.
I recall when I first became a christian, that even though I knew nothing about the many doctrines and spiritual understanding, I did know that if God said it, I believe it, end of story! It did not take me too long to come to understand and accept that the God of the universe had spoken, and BAM! everything in creation came to be.
So, if it was spoken in his word the Bible, I believed it, case closed. With time, I learned that the Holy Spirit would assist me in discernment and understanding of God’s word. The thing for me however, that if there were times when I was confused about what I believed, I would simply go back to the beginning, and to the source of all knowledge pertaining to the Christian faith. The Bible.
I have come to know that it is good thing to be reminded of the very basics all over again, and renew the foundation that I started on.
With the new year upon us, perhaps this is a good time to get back to a spiritual renewal, back to the beginning. Maybe this would be the ideal time to take a look at our personal lives and bring the focus of God’s word to the forefront.
Just imagine what an amazing journey this year can be, if we just simple keep our focus on the basics of our faith!
Eugene Coghill