Destined to be Great

Last week we looked at the creation of man, and how in Gen. chapter 1 God created us in His own Image. I pray that you took the time to reflect upon this chapter and seek God for your TRUE Identity. If you weren't able to read it please look in the right hand column and click on last weeks posting. We will be going on a journey a little farther than where we were last week. We're going to be looking at Ephesians 1:4 "Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes." NLT Now again we must look at this very carefully and it may not come right away that is why we have a whole week to think upon it, chew it and pray into it to allow God the time to speak. What is this saying: Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. This is packed with so many things in this one sentence!! It states before creation, before God spoke a word to form the world He loved us and chose us IN CHRIST. So God being the all knowing God that He is knew that by creating the world He would have to sacrifice His Son. So can you imagine the conversation between God and Jesus at that time. I would like to think it was something like this....Hey Jesus come over here for a moment. I wanted to run this plan by you and see what you think. I want to create this world, that is beautiful and awesome, every inch of it screams my Majesty and praises me. I want to create galaxies upon galaxies with millions and millions of stars, and planets and other cosmic wonders, that declare my Glory and power! Also I want to create humans, beings that are created in my own image. I will implant in them my own self, and they will care for this world and worship me and love me for all time! They will be my chosen ones Holy and without fault. Jesus was probably like YEA BUDDY, LET'S GET ON THAT!! That sounds great....but then God would say, well there is one more thing I must tell you. These humans that I will create they will disobey my command at the very beginning. I will give them free will because I don't want to control them, I want to love them and have them love me on their own. So in order for all things to happen like I have planned, for them to be Holy, and without fault I'm gonna need you to actually go down to this world at some point and live a perfect sinless life and die for all their sins. So that through you relationship may be restored, and we can have intimacy again. The only way for all this to work out is for them to come to me through you. You will be their atonement, a sacrifice on their behalf. Weighing all the words that God had just spoken Jesus willingly accepted. Knowing at some point He'd be sent to die for each and every person, some wouldn't even choose to accept Him but yet He'd do it anyways. So that is before creation, God had us in mind and He knew the destruction that we'd create for ourselves. He made the first step creating us with the intention of us loving and serving him. He went a step further and created a way for our return to Him through Christ to be Holy and without fault. That is the important part here that we were created to be Holy and without Fault, that was messed up but there was still an option we can come into relationship with Jesus, choose to live in Him, and be found Holy and without fault through Him. We were destined to be in relationship with God. He thought it all through before He even began creation, made a plan and created the world knowing the only way for humans to be in the place he desired, to be holy and without fault WAS THROUGH Jesus Christ.

It is fitting that God has placed this on my heart to share as we approach Easter. I didn't have it planned out I just wrote what I felt needed to be written. Meditate on this passage, and really think through it. Take it to heart, spend time before the Lord asking Him to speak to you through it. This is the identity from last week, these are 2 characteristics that God created us to live out! Read the creation story and then read this one verse and allow God to open your mind and heart to Himself.

In The Beginning

So God created human beings in His own image, in the image of God He created them, male and female he created them. Gen. 1:27 NLT

The creation story of Gen. chapter 1 is one of my favorites. It never ceases to amaze me that in verse 3 it begins to show the awesome power of who God truly is. The earth was non-existent, and by the words of God everything we see was created. Can you imagine the extreme power of the words of God?! All He has to do is think something and it is done, speak a word and that which was nothing becomes something! That is the amazingly powerful God that we serve, He truly is the Breath of Life. An awesome thing is we were created in His own image. Let me unpack this verse for you a little bit. First off it tells us where we come from. There is no way to deny that "God created human beings." That is only the beginning, the greatest part about each one of us is the fact that we're created in "His own image." There isn't anything about us that hasn't been thought through LONG before the creation of the heavens and the earth. God was speaking into existence everything and then on the 6th day He says I want to make humans in my image. I can just picture God saying "I will make each one uniquely different, placing inside each and everyone my own characteristics. I will give them each gifts and talents, and I will be a part of them. There will be nothing lacking in any of them." I can't tell you how many times I have thought about myself and thought God sure messed up making me. Even though I read these words there are times I feel inadequate to do certain things. Desiring to be better in this area, or if I could only be like that, I would be so much better. HOW DARE I SPEAK, and EVEN THINK LIKE THAT! When I begin to doubt who I am and how I've been made I am basically telling God that He messed up. Which in case you didn't know totally contradicts who God is. In order for God to be God He must be perfect, lacking nothing. All knowing, all powerful, and in control of all. When I doubt the person I am physically, emotionally, any part of me, I might as well walk into the throne room of heaven and stare God in the face and tell Him how imperfect He is and how much He stunk in making me. We are calling Him a liar because in verse 31 is states: "Then God looked over all He had made, and He saw that it was very good." If there was anything lacking in man He would not have saw it as being "VERY GOOD." He would not have been satisfied, nor would He have left us in an unfinished, imperfect state. Read chapter 1 and find the difference in all the other days of creation and day 6. God makes it very clear that creating humans is more pleasing to Him then anything else because all the other days conclude with God seeing it as GOOD. On the day He creates Humans He sees it as VERY GOOD!

I think there are so many times where we forget to turn to God and ask the questions of who we really are. It is important to find our identity, everyone has things that make them them. We must not get caught up however in the way most people in the world do, and be so concerned about finding our identity in things, people, POSITIONS, anything. We must go back to the basics of Gen. 1 and remind ourselves we are "made in God's own image." We must seek Him daily to reveal to us who He is and who we are in Him. That is the only way to truly live out our lives is to figure out what makes us us. Honestly we must remember that apart from Him we are nothing and will never be anything, but In Him we are EVERYTHING and will ALWAYS BE SOMETHING! Our identity must be securely rooted in God, we cannot forget how we were created. Made in the image of God, that means that because we have God's own image composition that we must show others the characteristics of our creator. We must lovingly accept all those around us, we must live our lives in such a way that other peoples attention is directed towards God. As Christ Followers, people that have come to the point of recognizing who God is and the necessity of having a personal relationship with Him, we must daily live out our faith in God. It all begins with taking time sitting quietly at the Lords feet and asking Him to reveal to you who you are in His eyes. When you hear His loving words cling to those, run with those, and by all means do not believe any lie that contradicts the words of your creator. This week go back to the basics, read the creation story and take time to quite yourself and all things around you and listen to the Lord speak to you about your true identity.