I was the first person to see my second son. When I first saw him I could not yet tell if he was a he or a she. This was in Africa a long time before sonograms. Yet I was not the first to know him. Long, long before I was born he was known. God said to Jeremiah, “Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, before I formed you in the belly I knew you; and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified thee.” And there is the magnificent passage in Ephesians 1 about you and me. “Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.” It gets even better in verse 5. “Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ.”
We were born in sin but that did not deter Him one iota. Have you ever seen something you want so badly it is all you think about? That something is you. Long, long ago He knew all about you and wanted you. The earth is very old but before there was an ocean or a continent or a tree God wanted to adopt you into His family.
Now it gets even better because in Romans 8:17 we are co-heirs with Jesus Himself sharing in His inheritance. In Ephesians 2 Paul tells us God did this so He could lavish us with gifts of grace. Is not this the Good News? Can it be any better than this?
Written by Roger Bothwell on June 24, 2008
Spring of Life Ministry, Box124, St. Helena, CA 94574