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Not one of us asked to be born. We had no say in who our parents were, what nationality we were born into and with which social background and economic circumstances we were endowed. The genetic dice were thrown and we had to accept the advantages and disadvantages of our own make-up and personality and somehow make the best of it.
We find ourselves in a confusing world which is inhabited by both good and evil, joy and sorrow, success and failure and by that which is beautiful as well as that which is ugly. In our own lives we experience good times and bad, happiness and pain and we know both gain and loss. In all of this we work and strive to hold our lives, and those of the ones we love, together and to make some meaning of it all.
But why? What is behind all this apparent confusion and contradiction? Is there anything at all or is it just a cruel accident or the unthinking and uncaring whim of someone or something we call "fate"? Have we any significance at all in a universe which is of such a size as to pass human comprehension?
These questions have occurred to most of us at some time or other. They have occupied the minds of men and women for as long as recorded history and probably far beyond that. They are simple questions and yet incredibly profound. Why am I here? Why is this happening to me? What should I do now? Where am I going? Is it worth it all?
Can we ever have answers that satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts and bring light into the darkness and order into the confusion? Where is it that we can find understanding and certainty sufficient to provide us with something indestructible at the very core of our being?
It was into this scene of darkness and confusion that Jesus Christ came and made pronouncements that strike at the very heart of these issues.
"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life". (John 8:13)
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me". (John 14:6)
The way Jesus expressed these truths is of great significance. He did not say he would show us the light, he said he is the light. He did not say he would guide us along the way, he said that he is the way. In like manner, he did not say he would tell us about the truth or teach us a way of life, he said he is the truth and the life.
The point of all this is that, as all these basic, universal truths are embodied in a person, the way to an understanding of those truths is through a relationship with that person. It is not enough that we know about him. It is by entering into a personal relationship with him that we come to a knowledge of the truth.
Thus, if we are to walk in the light then we must walk with he who is the light. Likewise, if we are to experience the fullness of life, then we need to have personal contact with Jesus who is the life.
As we consider these things, we get our first glimpse of the eternal Purpose of God. For what Jesus is directing us towards is not a religious structure, a code of ethics or moral behaviour or a philosophy of life, but towards union with God. It is a personal relationship with Jesus himself from which all else flows.
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3)
But this is strange talk indeed to many. What does it mean to walk in fellowship with God? How is a relationship with God established in the first place? Why does this feel so distant and inaccessible to me?
It is necessary for us first of all to understand that we were meant to walk in union and in harmony with God. Mankind was created in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:26) in order that we might enjoy unbroken fellowship with God. Union with God is thus our natural state of being. Broken union with God is the source of all disharmony within our own lives and within the human race in general.
Secondly we must face up to the fact that it is sin that has broken that relationship and placed a barrier between us and God. God is indeed a God of love but he is also the righteous judge of all the earth.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 6:23)
The "death" referred to here is spiritual death, meaning separation from God. Eternal life, on the other hand, means union with God here and now.
Thus, although we are all sinners when measured against God's standards, the Son of God came into the world to pay the penalty for our sin and to provide a legal basis upon which our relationship with God could be fully restored. When Jesus died on the cross it was your sin, my sin and indeed the sin of all mankind for which he was suffering. When he rose from the dead he was declaring that the penalty had been paid and that we could be forgiven our sin and restored to fellowship with God. There is no other solution to the basic corruption of human nature. There need be no other, for the gift of eternal life that Jesus offers is perfect and absolutely complete.
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God... (John 1:11-12)
This greatest of all gifts comes to us not because we deserve it in any way, but by God's grace. All we are called upon to do is put our faith in Jesus Christ and "receive" him into our hearts and lives. He will do the rest, it is his word and his promise. All our efforts and striving to find relief from the pressure that sin and broken fellowship brings upon our heart and life will, in the long run, be of no avail. It is what Jesus has done that counts. Putting our faith and trust in him is all that is asked of us. This is all that is necessary to bring us into the sphere of God's great gift of life.
Thus we can see that Jesus does not show us the way, he is the way. It is by receiving him that we find relief from the bondage of sin and enter into fellowship with God. Jesus does not give us life. He is the life and it is by receiving him that we experience, in ever increasing measure, the abundance of his life.
In the same way, Jesus does not shed truth and light into our hearts and minds. He is that truth and light, and it is by accepting his redeeming work that divine certainty and assurance become an ever growing part of our everyday experience.
Who then is this One with whom we have to do?
Jesus is presented to us, unambiguously, as the author of all things and the one in whom the eternal purpose of God will find complete fulfilment.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Col. 1:15-17)
...but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. (Heb. 1:2)
And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment - to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. (Eph. 1:9-10)
He is declared, unequivocally, to be God in human form and to possess a position and name that is above every other in the universe.
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:6-11)
It is this Jesus who, at the end of this age, will demonstrate to all creation his position of absolute, supreme authority and bring to an end, once and for all, the rebellion of the human race and of the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. At that time every man and woman and, indeed, all created beings will acknowledge the supremacy of the Lordship of Jesus Christ and each will receive either of his grace or of his righteous judgement.
And yet it is this same Jesus who, at this time, stands outside the door of our hearts and requests our permission to enter and assume his rightful position of Lordship over our lives. At the end of the age submission to his Lordship will be by compulsion. Now it is by our own volition that we open that door, receive him and in him find light, life and union and fellowship with God through time and eternity.
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. (Rev. 3:20)
Thus it is revealed to us that the eternal purpose of God, although incredibly vast in its scope, starts within the hearts of individuals such as you and me. In other words, the glory that will be revealed when this present age comes to an end and God brings together all things under the headship of Christ, will be the sum total of the transforming work that he has accomplished in the hearts and lives of his people since time began.
...the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Col. 1:26-27)
It is within the lives of countless men and women, from all nations, high and low, rich and poor and from every walk of life, that the eternal purpose of God finds its focal point. In other words, it is people just like us , who are the purpose of God.
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:18)
Thus, we see that the work of God is an inward transforming work in our lives, the object of this transformation being to reproduce the very life and nature of Christ in us. It is Jesus we have received. It is his life that we are going to show forth.
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (2 Pet. 1:3-4)
We are also made aware that this is a continuing process that God is carrying forward within us every day of our lives. Our act of faith in "receiving Christ" and becoming a child of God is not the end, it is just the beginning. It is the beginning of a spiritual journey of discovery, that is discovery of God, discovery of abundance of life and the discovery of ourselves in Christ and Christ in us.
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" - (1 Cor. 2:9)
It is this journey that is the very core and essence of the eternal purpose of God.
So where do we look to find illumination and understanding of these matters that form the very foundation of life itself?
From the first book of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation, the Bible is the unfolding revelation of God's purpose in creation and it never deviates from this aim. From the creation of this current world and with it the human race, until the consummation of all things in Christ, the Bible narrative reveals to us the dealings of God with men and women, with kings and rulers and with nations, as, despite the gross rebellion of mankind, he has unerringly guided human history according to his sovereign will and purpose.
But even greater than all of this it reveals to us what God is doing in the hearts and lives of those who have, through their faith in Jesus Christ, yielded themselves to his will and purpose.
...for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. (Phil. 2:13)
It is through an understanding of his Word that the certainty and faith that is so desperately needed by men and women in this age, may become an integral part of each and every life.
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