Dios

As I’ve mentioned in the past, my teacher, Sonia, is a Christ-follower, and so she encourages me to read my Spanish Bible and then share with her what I’ve read, and my thoughts about it.  She knows a lot about the Bible, and so being able to talk together about the words of Jesus (and more!) is wonderful.  It’s also good practice for me as I will be helping lead discussions and lessons in El Callejon.

The Spanish Bible I have is the NVI, which is the equivalent of the NIV in English.  I love reading the Bible, and over the course of the summer it’s been fun to be able to read more and more of it without needing to grab my English version to figure out what is being said. 

I’ve been reading a lot of my favorite passages, like the shorter letters of Paul, the Gospel of John, different Psalms, parts of Revelation.  This week I decided to read the Creation Story in Genesis 1.  You are probably all familiar with the first verse of the Bible, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”  This is a perfectly good sentence, and pulls us into the story immediately. 

In Spanish, however, the sentence structure is different.  “Dios, en el principio, creó los cielos y la tierra.”  The very first word in the Bible is… Dios.  I love that so much! 

Again, there is nothing at all wrong with the English version, but isn’t that the coolest?!  Before all things, before all thought, before all of us, before all, well, all, God. 

I have to say, when I read that first sentence, something in me just sang.  And, very honestly, cried out.  Cried out to the One who is our Creator.  The Author and Perfector of our souls.  The One who sees and hears.

In the midst of a week of feeling homesick, of news of hurricanes and flooding (in the U.S. and in parts of Guatemala), of being tired out by trying to absorb more verb tenses (three this week alone!), it refocused my attention where it belongs.  On God.  On God the Creator, the One who initiates all things worth initiating. 

God is God.  He is incomparable, because He existed before there was anything to compare Him to.  He is impossible to define because He is not limited by time and space and our ability to use thoughts or words.  God is God. 

And, I get to serve Him.  The hugeness of this truth overwhelms me.  I don’t know why He has chosen me.  But He has.  Oh, friends, He has chosen me… and He has chosen you.  You are precious to Him.  He created you, and He sees you and hears you, and invites you into fellowship with Him.  I pray you are overwhelmed at this truth – and that your heart sings out, too!

God is God.  At the end of all things, God will be God.  And, we will be with Him.  Yes, things here on this broken, finite, limited earth still get me down.  Yes, I struggle.  But, gracias a Dios, He is gracious!  He knew the condition of my heart this week, and gave me a simple and profound gift. 

Dios, en el principio, creo los cielos y la tierra.  God, in the beginning, created the heavens and the earth.  And nothing in those heavens or on earth can separate us from Him.  Dios, en el principio… Dios.

Digno eres, Señor y Dios nuestro,
de recibir la gloria, la honra y el poder,
porque tú creaste todas las cosas;
por tu voluntad existen
y fueron creadas.  (Apocalipsis 4:11)

You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.  (Revelation 4:11)