Mindy Lee Hopman

In the Beginning

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Genesis 1:1-2 (NASB)

God’s love existed at the beginning of time when He created the greatest love story. 

God Created

Bereishit Bara Elohim, “In the beginning God created.” God, the One who has all the time in eternity, set aside time to be creative. To bara means to shape, to form, to create, or to give birth to something new.  

Every sunrise and sunset declares the majesty of His glorious creation.

It is as if my Heavenly Father swipes His glorious paintbrush, dipped in gold and red beauty, across the wide-open canvas just for my eyes to see, and the beauty of His presence settles my beating heart as I rest in knowing I am a part of His big picture, just as you are a part of His picture. 

Bara Elohim, “God created” every day in a specific order with a strategic purpose. From creation to chaos to complete function, waters without limits and complete darkness were formed and fashioned to collaborate. 

The Ultimate Creation

Creation continues when conception causes each beating heart to come alive.

The sweet cry heard as a baby enters the world melts a mama’s heart. His creation overwhelmed my soul when each of my babies was placed in my arms for the first time.

After God created the world, He created families to live in the world in a community as one, from the beginning of time until the end of time.

The Sweetest Community

Today’s Snapshot: The Big Picture

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit captivated creation in its fullness and completeness. From the darkness and light to each plant and tree on the ground to each egg in the nests, to the birds in the sky, to the fish in the ocean, to the animals on dry land — perfection was achieved in creation. God thrives in oneness. God did not dwell alone. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit dwelt in oneness and perfection together. Our Heavenly Father loves community. 

Relationships nestled within the Old Testament (great dads, moms, grandparents, uncles/aunts, and children, as well as some not-so-great ones) appear as snapshots within God’s big picture. 

There are snapshots of oneness as well as snapshots of brokenness in our faith family tree. Regardless of how complete or broken each family appears, every snapshot of this story plays an important role in God’s big picture.

As we focus on the birth of Christ, the snapshots display family photos from the beginning of time right into the arms of the young mother who gave birth to the Savior of the world to today.  He was with The Father, then He returned to bring us back to The Father.

The baby born over 2,000 years ago brought hope to a hurting world. This season, we celebrate the baby who was born for one purpose – to make brokenness complete. 

Today’s Family Discussion:

• What is your favorite Christmas tradition?
• Is there a new tradition you would like to start this year?

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father,

I praise You for who You are – The Creator and Master Designer of our world and of each of our lives. You created the world, and You created family to fit perfectly into Your big picture. I am grateful we can see a glimpse of the big picture through Your family snapshots. Thank You for sharing them with us. Thank You for the gift of family, and thank You for friends who have become family. May You continue to guide us through this Advent season as we slow down and focus on the reason for this beautiful season. 

In the precious name of Jesus, I pray,

Amen

This devotional is adapted from Faith Roots: An Advent Family Devotional available for purchase on Amazon.