Nothing propels the characters and the readers as efficiently as a definite need, and the sooner the need is identified, the better. The pass was high and wide and he jumped for it, feeling it slap flatly against his hands, as he shook his hips to throw off the halfback who was diving at him. Starting a story with action will catch your reader's attention. The tactic of opening with sex has worked for many writers. If in your first sentence you describe an object, whether you intend it to be a symbol or not, most readers will treat it as a symbol.
Symbols can evoke all kinds of associations.
The object gives us something concrete to visualize and play with. Your opening could provide an external look at a character. You can begin your narrative with a question. A scene naturally combines action, setting, and character. Open your novel with the main character's thoughts.