【双语灵修】我们的故事始于黑暗OUR STORY BEGINS IN DARKNESS

「地是空虚混沌，渊面黑暗；神的灵运行在水面上。」-创 1:2

开始是很重要。小说和电影中人物的背景有助于我们了解塑造他们的环境。有时，我们会透过讲述自己祖先的故事，或影响家族历史的事件来介绍自己。我们意识到，我们之所以是我们，与我们的处境和前人有很大关系。

同样，圣经中关于地球的第一句话是「空虚混沌」、「渊面黑暗」—这是一种诗意的说法，说明在神开始创造之前，世界并不存在。你有没有去过没有光的山洞？那里可能黑得伸手不见五指，甚至伸到眼前都看不到。圣经以比这更深的黑暗开始。这是圣经作者所能想象的最深的黑暗：世上不存在的空洞黑暗。

将临期开始，我们期待耶稣降临的光明时，圣经的开头让我们深感欣慰。无论我们目前的处境多么沉重，有多少不可能，圣经都提醒我们，我们的故事始于在最深的黑暗中创造生命的神。换句话说，有神就有盼望。

祷告

亲爱的神，在这个将临期，请在我们内心安置盼望。请提醒我们，你的创造之工胜过我们所能想象的最黑暗的环境。阿们。

创世记 1:1-2
1 起初，神创造天地。2 地是空虚混沌，渊面黑暗，神的灵运行在水面上。

OUR STORY BEGINS IN DARKNESS

“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” - Genesis 1:2

Beginnings are important. Backgrounds about characters in novels and movies help us see the situations that have shaped them. Sometimes we introduce ourselves by telling about our ancestors or about events that have shaped our family history. We recognize that who we are has a lot to do with the situations and the people who came before us.

Similarly, the Bible’s first words about the earth are that it was “formless and empty” and that “darkness was over the surface of the deep”—a poetic way of saying that the world did not exist before God started creating. Have you ever been in a cave without any lights on? It can be so dark that you can’t see your hands even when you touch your nose. The Bible begins with a darkness that is deeper than that. It’s the deepest darkness the Bible writers could imagine: the empty darkness of the world not existing.

As we begin Advent, looking forward to the light of Jesus’ coming, there is something very comforting about the Bible’s beginning. However heavy and impossible our current circumstances may feel, the Bible reminds us that our story begins with the God who creates life in the midst of the deepest darkness imaginable. In other words, with God there is always hope.

Prayer
Dear God, create hope within us in this Advent season. Please remind us that your creative work is greater than the darkest circumstances we can imagine. Amen.
诵读: 楚云
片头: 张妙阳