Mar 25, 2018

12 Steps to Joy (2)

Trust in God (2)

            In the beginning the Word already existed.

                        The Word was with God,

                        And the Word was God.

            The Word existed in the beginning with God.

            God created everything through the Word,

                        And nothing was created except through the Word.

            The Word gave life to everything that was created,

                        And the life of the Word brought light to everyone.

            The light shines in the darkness,

                        And the darkness can never extinguish it.”

                                                                        John 1:1-5.

Thus the poetic heart of the author of the Gospel of John soared in ecstasy that has echoed throughout history. Even the science of cosmology agrees with the expressions of wonder and bafflement expressed in this beautiful glimpse of the Mind of God. Science has twisted itself into knots trying to explain where the universe came from, but none has explained it with greater clarity:

            In the beginning the Word already existed.

I will be spending some time looking at the wonders expressed in this truly shocking thought of almost 2000 years ago.

First we see the parallelism of this expression with Genesis 1:26;

Let Us make humanity in Our image, according to Our likeness. — God created humanity in God’s own image, in the image of God, God created humanity; male and female God created them.

            God already was present at the Big Bang, and Genesis 1 and 2 describes the processes in general terms that could be understood by humans at the time. The Author of John expresses in more poetic terms and deeper insight the same concept: God was already present, and became the Word to be the expression of creation that is still ongoing. It can be truly said that the Word is what preceded the Big Bang, perhaps answering one of the unanswerable questions of cosmology: What was before the Big Bang. Many theories have been put forth, but it is impossible to test anything before the singularity that signifies the Big Bang, and they remain only theories.

It seems sad to me that science and religion, especially the three great religions based on the Judaic law, cannot seem to grasp that they are in firm agreement on the foundation of the universe and evolution in all its’ myriad forms. It could not, in my opinion, be any clearer that the writers of the testaments (old and new) understood that the breath of creation started at the start of all we call matter and time. They formulated the basic but hazy understanding in the only way they could, based on the knowledge and understanding at their time. It is astounding how their faint grasp of the universal truths of the birth of the universe (in which they had no idea of the breadth and age of the universe) are born out as we study in early moments from the remnants of what we call the Big Bang.

Meditation

Creator of all, who continues to create and is the eternal mediator in our universe, Your patience and willingness to wait our slow grasping of the true meaning of this awesome universe we exist within. Thousands of years and countless generations have slowly awakened our sensibilities and spirit to where we finally are able to grasp a glimmer that seems to be the truth of all existence. I bow in gratitude to accept the challenge and to do my part in the 13.8 billion year project. My light that is but a dim reflection of Your blazing wonder adds to all the past and is part of the process that forms the future. I accept that wonder and the part that I play in the path, and place myself into Your hands for the future. I am content to do whatever You ask of me.

MY BOOK, THE 12 STEPS TO JOY AND HAPPINESS, IS NOW AVAILABLE FROM HAY HOUSE, BALBOA PRESS, AMAZON, AND BARNES AND NOBLE, AS WELL AS OTHER SOURCES, IN HARD COVER, SOFT COVER, AND EBOOK FORMATS.

We are bound in the music of life where we dance and weave within that glorious melody, or what some call God. Now, God has said that we are the very image of God (Genesis 1:27), and as images of God, we have the inborn ability to have Joy and Happiness forever present in our life. The author, David L. Peters, is an octogenarian whose life has always been filled with joy, regardless of outward appearances. The wonders of the Kingdom of Heaven is everyone’s birthright, if you know how to let your Creator and the Universe enter your spirit. Jesus put it succinctly: “The Kingdom of God lies within” (Luke 17:21). The Kingdom of God, Paradise, Heaven: these lie within you, right now, waiting for you to only turn and see, and join in the dance. Paradise is right within us, but how do we unlock the door to this wonder of joy? This book lays a path open that the author has followed for almost 80 years, starting as a young boy in rural Ohio, and it operates as advertised. No matter how things look in life, how bad it seems, all one need do is look deeper within and find the joy that can fill life: life is good! The life of abundant joy and happiness is yours for the asking. Dip your toe in the living waters, and taste the Beauty of God that is awaiting.