As I shared in a recent post, Janet and I, along with the rest of our family, have now been in Indiana 40 years. I started our company on April 2, 1983 and had a really tough time for several years. However, we eventually got our head above water and the rest, as they say, is history.
When we decided that I would attend seminary, back in 1999 and 2000, I ended up turning the company over to our senior staff to run while I attended classes in Greek, Hebrew, Theology, Polity and other seminary requirements. After graduation, I really thought that I would get a church and never darken the doorstep of another corporation. I was wrong. Apparently, that wasn’t God’s plan for me – or us.
So… I ended up selling what was left of the company to a friend of Janet’s father who was also in the staffing business. On hindsight, it worked out well for everyone. I was free to pursue whatever God had in mind for me and I didn’t have the additional expense of office space.
In fact, I moved my office into our home. Then, I went to the post office to rent a box to receive our mail. After all, I had given up our address at Keystone at the Crossing, one of the premier office parks in Indianapolis. It seemed strange to request a P.O. Box and it took me back to the time that Dad rented a box in Palatine, IL to get his mail. In fact, I just remembered that he had P.O. Box 429.
Well, there were several boxes available but I knew right away the one I wanted. It happened to be P.O. Box 1711. It was a small box but I wasn’t expecting too much mail – remember, I was reluctantly back in the corporate world but my heart was in ministry. One of the good things is that it was high up in the row so I didn’t have to bend down to get the mail each day. And I devised an easy way to remember the box number, but really didn’t share it with anyone at the time.
We have now had that little P.O. Box 1711 for more than 20 years. In fact, I have had it longer than we have had grandchildren! When Jill and her son, Drew, moved back to Indianapolis several years ago, Drew had a real fascination with the post office. In fact, he wanted to go in and check the mail for me. The first time we went together and I showed him the location of the box, but he was having trouble remembering the number.
I knew that that there was an easy way to teach him so he would not forget. I shared that our box was 1711 and he could remember it by recalling that God created the world in 7 days with the help of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. So… 1-7-1-1… He got it!
I can’t tell you how many times I have thought of that example. I still kind of smile when I go check the mail myself. But now comes the lesson part – a little deeper down the theological rabbit hole.
There is debate on which part of the Trinity actually created the “cosmos.” Most folks think of God the Father as the Creator but we are told in the Gospel of John that Jesus was really the Creator. Regardless of which way you choose to believe, the Trinity itself created the universe in 7 days…
Clearly, our verse for tonight has to be the verse that verifies that Jesus was actually the Creator of everything – what we call the “ex nihilo” beginning – something from nothing.
The apostle John tells us, in John 1:1-4, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.”
Notice that John tells us that Jesus (the Word) was with God the Father in the beginning. Then, we are told that all things were made by Him and that nothing was made without Him.
My encouragement this evening is that in the beginning God created a perfect nest for mankind. It was, and still is, God’s desire to be in community with us throughout all eternity. My prayer is that we will all study the Scripture with a renewed sense of wonderment and awe – keying on those things that we have read many times but maybe haven’t really studied to get the full picture of what really happened. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…