Once there was no dictionary. 

Simon Winchester, in The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary, notes that even though it surely was needed, there was no English dictionary before 1604, although inexpensive printed books had been available since 1476. Even the 1604 book was not a true dictionary, but simply a list of 3,000 “hard usuall [sic] English words” with brief, often one word synonyms.

Once there was no sin.

“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. … Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” (Genesis 1:31, 3:1-6).

Once there was no one who did good.

“They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” … “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:12, 23). 

Once there was no hope.

“Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:11-13).

Have you been made nigh by the blood of Christ? Is He truly living in you? Do you appreciate your hope?