...In the Beginning

My kids have a Bible called the Jesus Storybook Bible, and – moment of honesty – the way that particular Bible treats the gospel has awakened so many “Aha!” moments in my own heart that sometimes I read it even when they’re not around.  It shows with such clarity how God whispers His great love for us on every page of the Bible, and it has taught me something that the Holy Spirit continues to teach me: Jesus was always God’s plan.

Jesus wasn’t God’s exasperated plea for us to return to Him.  He wasn’t a desperate final attempt to figure out how to save a stubborn people.  The Bible says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.”  John 1:1-2 (NIV).  And later it says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son…” John 1:14a (NIV).  Jesus was with God from the start.  The birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus was always God’s plan.

When I read Old Testament stories, I have started asking myself, “How does this foreshadow God’s design for our redemption?  How does this point to Jesus?”  I have found that when I do this, the entire Bible…not just the New Testament…thrums with the just-below-the-surface anticipation of Jesus and God’s perfect plan for salvation.