God has a vision. He has always had it, right from eternity. Everything He has ever done and is still doing is for the cause of that vision. He sent Jesus, His only Son, as a fulfilment of the vision He has always held in His heart.
God’s vision is, and always has been, children made after the image of His Son.
Those foreknown of God, “He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.” (Rom 8:29)
I guess to say God has a vision may not be entirely biblical as He sees the end from the beginning and everything in between. But to say God had a plan doesn’t seem to encapsulate the amazing and outstanding, blow your mind away effect for me. The fact that God saw me and you even before we came into being and knew us intimately is beyond my understanding. Yet He did and still does and is present in our past, present and future altogether. To know that God held us in His heart and mind even before the world was created is such a intimate, altogether mind boggling understanding.
God, the Creator of the universe and beyond, pursued us even when we didn’t want pursuing and in the fulfilment of His time revealed Jesus to our weary hearts. He truly is the Father of Love! And what incredible love, that He gave up His most loved Son for you and me.
Right from the beginning of our time, God’s intention and purpose for humankind was expressed in these unforgettable words:-
“Let Us make man in our image” (Gen 1:26)
Us! The whole Godhead was in perfect unity about what they were to do in spite of knowing the ramifications of the rebellious choice mankind would choose. And how far from that image did we wander as we got ensconced in a world of rebellion and sin against the Godhead. We got lost in the trappings of Tinsel Town and the pursuit of riches and success, and in doing so, lost the Father, ourselves and our families. We strive for fulfilment and acceptance yet never realised that these needs can only be met through the unconditional love of a Heavenly Father who gave so much for us.
Through the prophet Isaiah, God laments that the children He chose did not recognise His care for them, so far they travelled the road of forgetting their identity and purpose and tried to find fulfilment in false gods. Although this scripture speaks of the Israelites, His chosen people, it still holds merit for all humanity today through the cross of Jesus Christ. God gives a picture of the state of those who give no credence to an Almighty God who created them. This still rings so true today, in a society who is doing its best to remove God from the picture in order to choose their own path and “truth”, modern idols of man’s pride.
Why do you insist on being battered?
Why do you continue to rebel?
Your head has a massive wound,
your whole body is weak.
From the soles of your feet to your head,
there is no spot that is unharmed.
There are only bruises, cuts,
and open wounds.
They have not been cleansed or bandaged,
nor have they been treated with olive oil. (Isa 1:5-6)
You can heard the cry of God’s heart pleading for us to come back to Him and be healed. Knowing this in advance, one could almost wonder why God would create a people who would reject Him and His Christ. The simple answer is that love needs expression and God wanted a family to set His affection on and who would willingly respond from their hearts.
When we have children of our own, we too have dreams for their future, and do everything in our power to lead them and hope that they would be happy and successful as their life unfurls before us. Parents are heartbroken when they see their progeny destroy their future through wrong choices. How much more our Heavenly Father who even desires things over and beyond even the things we long for but can’t express.
The gospel message is all about a divine romance. God created us so He could lavish His love upon us. He want to give us dignity and purpose as He gave us dominion over the earth, to bring His Heavenly Kingdom on to this earth realm. God showed how much He wanted this relationship with us by walking with Adam and Eve everyday in the garden. Unfortunately, the relationship was destroyed when Adam and Eve disobeyed, and sin and death entered, and this has been humankind’s problem ever since. And with our sins against God and each other, we are wracked with guilt and pain.
The divine romance kicked in, and as agreed, Jesus came. He showed us love and obedience as He walked this earth, putting right all things for those He touched. That love led Him to the cross and, in His death and resurrection, He open the way back to Father. Through the cross alone, and the blood Jesus shed, we are forgiven every time we repent.
“The plan was that He would give himself as an offering for sin so that He would see life come from it - life, life and more life. And God’s plan would deeply prosper through Him. Out of that terrible travail of soul, he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad He did it. Through what He experienced, my Righteous One, my Servant, will make many “righteous ones” as He Himself carries all their sins.” (Is 53:11 MSG)
Accepting Christ and what He did for us on the cross and allowing Him to live His Life through us truly makes us children of God birthed in the growing image of the One our allegiance leads us to worship and obey.
