Monday morning munch #1

Day #1: The puzzle of knowing the unknown

Welcome to the Monday morning munch! How was your weekend? Fuelled for the working week ahead?

If you are from the Young Worker's Bucket List event, then great to have you along! In case you are new, the Monday morning munch is designed to kick off the working week by feeding our spiritual lives with bite-size bits of the Bible (and yes, the writer likes alliteration). You don’t have to be a Christian to read this – in fact, I’ve intentionally written these for everyone, regardless of their belief – whether it is those who are unsure but consider themselves spiritual to those who are explicitly not and are glad to say so. Whoever you are – welcome!

Today, we’re kicking off a series called Around the Bible in 5 days. Each munch will look at an important day in the Bible and today we’re starting off with the beginning. The opening words of the Bible are famous –

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

The claim of Christianity is that the God who you get to know as the Bible unfolds – the God in the Bible – is the creator. He created everything. The phrase “heavens and earth” act as boundary markers – so it’s everything above, everything in the middle, and everything below. And yet, the story doesn’t stop there. The beginning is fleshed out with more detail. In fact, one of the phrases which is repeated again and again is “And God said” (skim read Genesis 1 and count how many times!) The God of the Bible not only creates but he speaks and not only does he speak, he speaks to the people in the world. This is incredible! Let me explain.

If God just created and didn’t speak, you could find out about him from what has been made. You would need to use your eyes and from what you see, you’d piece together what God is like. You’d have a picture but it would be a bit fuzzy. While a picture paints a thousand words, the 1000 words are different for each viewer. What we see is real but remains imprecise. However, the claim of Christianity is that God not only created but he spoke as well. We not only need to use our eyes but our ears. While you can size up a stranger from first appearances, when he or she speaks, it reveals so much more – from their accents you get a sense of their past, you hear the quiver of uncertainty or the firmness of confidence - the gaps start to fill out, the picture is brought into sharper focus. It’s not too much of a stretch to think that it’s the same with God – that he speaks means that you can actually know him. The more you hear him speak, the more you can detect the subtlety of his accent, you become accustomed to his tone, you know the history in his voice. God doesn’t have to be a stranger.

In the beginning God created and he spoke - two key ideas of the Christian faith. The unknown has been made known. If Christianity is right, the question to ask is do you know God? And so here is the beginning of our journey – Day 1. Join us for Day 2 next Monday.

Here are two quick questions to munch on during this week, and your comments are welcome. Post them below ...

• What would everyday life look like if God was silent? How would it change if God spoke?
• Many today think God is distant. Do you think the God of Christianity could make himself clearer? If so, any suggestions?