“Hi! What’s your name?”
“Let’s go grab a coffee together some time.”
“Can we meet in my office?”
“Hey, come over here—I’d like you to meet someone.”
“Got plans Saturday night?”
“Sit down. I have some news.”
“Guess what I learned today!”
“Welcome to the neighborhood.”
“I love you.”
It’s not always obvious in the moment, but if you listen closely, if you catch it, you can hear whispers of what is to come. What is said in the beginning is the seed of the future. It sets the stage for everything else to come. Its sets things in motion. It is an indication that life is not going to be quite same from this point on, just because of what was spoken.
In novels we call this foreshadowing. In matters of faith we call this promise or prophecy or eschatology. In both, a story is being written.
When it comes to whatever story God may be writing, Christ is always the first word. In the beginning was the Word. In every good beginning is the Word.
Most of the time, if I’m honest, I don’t realize what I’ve heard until later. I’m learning to be OK with that. To not fret so much about potentially missing God’s voice in the present and to be OK with hearing him eventually. Hearing the first word, “Christ,” later is better than never hearing it at all. Living within the rest of the story that began with Christ is the only story I find worth living.
