The Journey

Where did we come from? What was the beginning of our existence? Did it all start with the twinkling of our fathers’ eye, or through the loving embrace of our parents? But perhaps we were an afterthought, or even a mistake? No. God doesn’t make mistakes. He knew us long before our parents ever met; even before the beginning of time. We were part of His eternal plan to be in relationship with Him from the start. ‘For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world’ (Ephesians 1:4).

Of course, this was long before we had a body. It was the spiritual reality of our life that came first, which is our true identity in Him.

‘Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be’ (Psalm 139:16). His plan for our life was already mapped out. That is, His perfect plan. So often we decide to go down our own route, excluding God in our walk, and that perfect plan becomes distorted.

Then our body begins to take shape. ‘For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb’ (Psalm 139:13), and we are born into the world, into this hostile, alien environment, which is far removed from the way it was meant to be. The Garden of Eden was perfect, but the world as we now know it has been taken over by the devil (John 14:30), and we immediately find ourselves in a battle.

At some point in our journey we become aware of Jesus. Then we have a choice. We can continue on our own, struggling with the problems of life, battling through the pitfalls and coping as best we can with the circumstances that confront us. Or we can take Jesus at His word. He promises us a new and living way (Hebrews 10:20), a life transformed by Christ (Galatians 2:20) and eternal life in Him (1 John 2:25).

But there’s a condition. Jesus says, ‘You must be born again’ (John 3:7).

This is the moment our human spirit has been longing for. As we hear the message of salvation, how through the cross we can be re-united with the Father, and as we acknowledge this truth and receive it into our lives, the spirit within us is regenerated, and a new birth takes place.

‘When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance’ (Ephesians 1:13-14). ‘An inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade ... kept in heaven for you’ (1 Peter 1:4).

For the rest of our earthly life we can walk with Him and He with us (Hebrews 13:5). We live in the blessed assurance of who we are in Him, our Father (1 John 3:1), until the day comes when we meet face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12), and come into our inheritance.

The journey never ends.

Prayer: Father, it’s so reassuring to know that You’re the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega, and that Your love for me is endless. Help me to cling to You for that part in the middle, which is my earthly existence, and so allow You to be my guide, my protector and my peace, in Jesus’ name. Amen.