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Genesis 1:1 – In Defense of Simple
“In the beginning, God….” (Genesis 1:1). Such a simple beginning to a complex chapter, book, covenant and theology. Such a simple beginning to a life lived simply for God. Seeing God, accepting and understanding He is the power behind all that follows those four little words, and all that is, takes a simple faith based upon a simple realization. I cannot understand everything, but I can accept one thing – “in the beginning, God.” Simple may not always be easy, but sometimes simple allows us to see, understand, and accept what we cannot see and understand.
Hebrews 11:1 HCSB Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.
There is an elegance within simplicity. This amazing quality allows one to see the beauty of a flower in all its glory without needing to understand how each individual part works before appreciating the wondrous creation and complexity within. A greater understanding can obviously lead to a greater appreciation, but it is not necessary in order for God to be glorified. Within that simple little flower is a grand lesson:
Matthew 6:28-30 NASB “And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, (29) yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. (30) “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
There is an innocence within simplicity. This allows a child to see the world through imagination not built upon the seen, but rather the dreamed. A dream is such a complex concept and yet the most simple of people dream. To dream is to see the world in a way contrary to what it is, to accept incongruities as possible, even normal, without being contradictions. To be innocent, to be childlike, is to accept the kingdom in a way that some cannot due to their own self evaluation, values, and education.
Matthew 21:15-16 NASB But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant (16) and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus *said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF’?”
Matthew 18:3-4 NASB and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (4) “Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
There is an intelligence within simplicity. This awareness progresses from a simple understanding, to the complex back to the simple so that the truth can be understood and then explained in a way that can be grasped even by the uninitiated. That is the power of Jesus’ simple parables that still had a complexity built within allowing people to sit as students in wonder of the Master Teacher. That is why the concept of irreducible complexity within science is so compelling. A mouse trap is used to disprove evolution! For more see “Darwin’s Black Box.” Simple does not mean ignorant, but rather paradoxically carries within it a more comprehensive grasp of reality.
I have doubted the existence of God and wrestled with the arguments for and against. I have seen arguments that were philosophical, logical, mathematical, and concluded that I cannot prove the existence of God. And I cannot disprove it either. The strongest argument is the resurrection of Christ, which if the evidence is approached historically, is very compelling.
So I choose to believe in something greater than myself, which makes me better than myself. I choose to believe that His moral standard is true, and that any attempt to even discuss morality without a standard is a contradiction in terms. I choose a simple yet complex and compelling faith. I choose to believe “in the beginning, God;” and “in the end, God;” and “in my life, God;” and “for all eternity, God.”
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