The world can be a very dangerous and treacherous place, with wars, violence, hatred, and dysfunction and wickedness on a level that even shames the devil. It can be shocking to hear about it all, and some of us are asking how much worse people and things can get. We don't know the answer to that question, but we know that our God is merciful and patient beyond what any of us can imagine. We can be confident there isn't anything that He doesn't see. There's nothing happening today in our world, or at any point in history, that He didn't know about way before it took place. He knows and sees everything. It may be challenging for us to comprehend this, but even before He laid the foundation of the world, our Heavenly Father knew us. He knew that satan would betray him, that Adam would do the same, and that He would send His only begotten Son to save us from hell.
Our Heavenly Father wanted a family and we're it! He wanted children that would be as loving and powerful as His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. At the appointed time, He sent His Son to the earth to accomplish His redemption plan for us. 1Timothy 6:15(NLT) tells us, “For at just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords.” Because of what God accomplished through the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ, we now have the great privilege and responsibility to live our lives in Christ.
2Corinthians 5:17(NLT) says, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” Before we gave our lives to Christ, we were not alive to God because our human-spirit was dead in sin. Now that we have accepted Christ, God has forgiven us of our sins and made us His children. We are filled with the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit, and we now live for Christ by following his example. 1John 5:20(NLT) says, “And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.”
We live in the world, but we are not of the world
As God's children and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we should never underestimate the heft of what it means to live in him. We can learn a little bit about this in John 17, when Jesus had a conversation with God and prayed for the disciples. He prayed in John 17:3-5(NLT), "3 And this is the way to have eternal life--to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. 4 I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began." Jesus Christ taught the disciples God’s Word so that they could be sanctified and cleansed by it. He prepared them to receive the Holy Spirit so that even though he was going back to the throne of our Heavenly Father, they would be filled with his power because they would have his Spirit.
Knowing God and Jesus Christ is the only way to receive the gifts of eternal life and the Holy Spirit. These gifts and blessings are many of the ones that the Lord has made available to us. Jesus completed the work that he was sent to earth to do, and afterwards, he was looking forward to obtaining the glory he shared with our Heavenly Father before the world began.
In John 17:9-10, He also prayed, "9 My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. 10 All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory." Our Redeemer didn't ask our Heavenly Father from the world even though it is a very dark place. He wanted them to remain in the earth because this is where we are trained in faith to live eternally with him.
He said in John 17:26(NLT), “I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.” This is really too phenomenal for words. Even before the world began, our Heavenly Father had a plan to make us His children by placing His Spirit within all those who would accept His love. He loves every person unconditionally, and He wants them to be saved through Jesus Christ and come into a knowledge of His truth. The world is indeed a dark place, but through Christ, we are the lights of the world. We are here to continue the work that he began and help others to know him. So, let’s not be discouraged about some of the things we are seeing. Instead, pray that God will increase our opportunities to shine the light of Christ because this was our Heavenly Father's plan even before the world began.■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Before the World Began”, written for victoryinjesuschrist.life. Copyright© 2024. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
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