He made the heavens skillfully. His love is eternal. He spread the land on the waters. His love is eternal. He made the great lights. His love is eternal. The sun to rule by day, His love is eternal; the moon and stars to rule by night. His love is eternal. (Verses 5-9)
No one can see God, but Jesus is exactly like Him. He ranks higher than anything that has been made. Through His power all things were made--things in heaven and on earth, things seen and unseen, all powers, authorities, lords and rulers. All things were made through Christ and for Christ. He was there before anything was made, and all things continue because of Him.
Colossians 1: 15-17 Italics, mine.
It is, for some of us, a revolutionary thought that the God Who created the earth and stars, painted onto land its mountains and streams, set to harmonious music the songs of the stars (Job 38:7), and divided time into days and nights did it out of His eternal love. The only thing I have to compare that with is the joy I receive from my children or from creating something new when I write. It's the joy of thinking a thing in its splendor then actually seeing it manifest in reality. Except I can't simply speak something into being as God did.
The thrilling thought for me this morning is the pre-existent God of All had a thing on His mind to do. That thing was conceived in love. His great eternal agape pushed His mighty heart to make the world. Why? There must have been some great joy in designing it all, looking at it once completed, and always the resounding confirmation: "It is good." The Godhead, excited about how to show all who dwell in eternity how immense everlasting love is. That it will stoop to a created orb in order to lavish the puny inhabitants with heavenly anointing oil and wash them in the waters of life! God stretching Himself toward creatures made in the image and likeness of the eternal One. Us. Man was the crowning glory of creation. After God said, "Let Us make man in Our image," He stepped back, looked at the beauty and symmetry of everything Christ spoke into being and said, It is very good!"
We are center to creation's purpose and power. Given by the Creator to have dominance over the earth. Set in the garden to care for it and enjoy it as He did. So the bigger thought is this: In Christ, He chose us before the world was made, so that we could be His holy people--people without blame before Him. Because of His love, God had already decided to make us His own children through Christ Jesus. That was what He wanted and what pleased Him, and it brings praise to God because of His wonderful grace (Ephesians 1). It is of us God was thinking first. Before He designed the universe in which our planet is suspended. The image of each of us pre-existed in the HEART of God long before He set His great architectural opus in place. God has ALWAYS loved us. Before we took on flesh. And will always love us when we relinquish it to the dust and fly to Jesus as the eternal ones we are.
I am completely known and understood, then. I've always been precious to Him even in the times I wasn't precious to others. My life has design...purpose. It fits in right now with the era in which I was born. No accidents. Pre-loved before I was packaged in flesh to roam this planet with my hand in His.
Not only that, it won't be over for Earth until Jesus declares it so--the story written before the world was spoken into being by Jesus. It is He who "holds everything together" even now. By His love. For the earth He made, for the moon, stars, sun, land, water, mountains and streams. To save it from eternal ruin, the Creator God slipped one night into a manger filled with other lambs, knowing the price He would pay to show His everlasting love to those into whom He'd breathed His very breath. Stretched upon a cross, dying the death we should have died, the Logos, the very Word of God, spoke our destiny with Him into being: "It is finished!" The plan from before the before now realized in the atonement. For all eternity, all its inhabitants, things seen and unseen, authorities, rulers, powers and lords to look upon the passionate, untamed, voracious love of God! It is still up to Jesus, the risen God of All, to determine the exact times and hours of Earth's existence. We linger in our rebellion and sin because He is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to be lost, but He wants all people to change their hearts and lives (2 Peter 3:9).
Love has always been. And goes on forever. Conceived in love, we are precious now and forever. Earth isn't the beginning of my journey with God and death isn't the end of it. He has made me to be eternal like Him. I want to swim in that love today, dipped into the stream of it. Regardless of all the horrific things those made to be like Him have dreamed up in our present age, beheadings and war, genocide and perversions, Love waits until there is nothing more for which to hope. Until it is time. Our God's unfathomable love will keep us until the earthly clock runs out and bids us into timeless wonder.
No one can see God, but Jesus is exactly like Him. He ranks higher than anything that has been made. Through His power all things were made--things in heaven and on earth, things seen and unseen, all powers, authorities, lords and rulers. All things were made through Christ and for Christ. He was there before anything was made, and all things continue because of Him.
Colossians 1: 15-17 Italics, mine.
It is, for some of us, a revolutionary thought that the God Who created the earth and stars, painted onto land its mountains and streams, set to harmonious music the songs of the stars (Job 38:7), and divided time into days and nights did it out of His eternal love. The only thing I have to compare that with is the joy I receive from my children or from creating something new when I write. It's the joy of thinking a thing in its splendor then actually seeing it manifest in reality. Except I can't simply speak something into being as God did.
The thrilling thought for me this morning is the pre-existent God of All had a thing on His mind to do. That thing was conceived in love. His great eternal agape pushed His mighty heart to make the world. Why? There must have been some great joy in designing it all, looking at it once completed, and always the resounding confirmation: "It is good." The Godhead, excited about how to show all who dwell in eternity how immense everlasting love is. That it will stoop to a created orb in order to lavish the puny inhabitants with heavenly anointing oil and wash them in the waters of life! God stretching Himself toward creatures made in the image and likeness of the eternal One. Us. Man was the crowning glory of creation. After God said, "Let Us make man in Our image," He stepped back, looked at the beauty and symmetry of everything Christ spoke into being and said, It is very good!"
We are center to creation's purpose and power. Given by the Creator to have dominance over the earth. Set in the garden to care for it and enjoy it as He did. So the bigger thought is this: In Christ, He chose us before the world was made, so that we could be His holy people--people without blame before Him. Because of His love, God had already decided to make us His own children through Christ Jesus. That was what He wanted and what pleased Him, and it brings praise to God because of His wonderful grace (Ephesians 1). It is of us God was thinking first. Before He designed the universe in which our planet is suspended. The image of each of us pre-existed in the HEART of God long before He set His great architectural opus in place. God has ALWAYS loved us. Before we took on flesh. And will always love us when we relinquish it to the dust and fly to Jesus as the eternal ones we are.
I am completely known and understood, then. I've always been precious to Him even in the times I wasn't precious to others. My life has design...purpose. It fits in right now with the era in which I was born. No accidents. Pre-loved before I was packaged in flesh to roam this planet with my hand in His.
Not only that, it won't be over for Earth until Jesus declares it so--the story written before the world was spoken into being by Jesus. It is He who "holds everything together" even now. By His love. For the earth He made, for the moon, stars, sun, land, water, mountains and streams. To save it from eternal ruin, the Creator God slipped one night into a manger filled with other lambs, knowing the price He would pay to show His everlasting love to those into whom He'd breathed His very breath. Stretched upon a cross, dying the death we should have died, the Logos, the very Word of God, spoke our destiny with Him into being: "It is finished!" The plan from before the before now realized in the atonement. For all eternity, all its inhabitants, things seen and unseen, authorities, rulers, powers and lords to look upon the passionate, untamed, voracious love of God! It is still up to Jesus, the risen God of All, to determine the exact times and hours of Earth's existence. We linger in our rebellion and sin because He is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to be lost, but He wants all people to change their hearts and lives (2 Peter 3:9).
Love has always been. And goes on forever. Conceived in love, we are precious now and forever. Earth isn't the beginning of my journey with God and death isn't the end of it. He has made me to be eternal like Him. I want to swim in that love today, dipped into the stream of it. Regardless of all the horrific things those made to be like Him have dreamed up in our present age, beheadings and war, genocide and perversions, Love waits until there is nothing more for which to hope. Until it is time. Our God's unfathomable love will keep us until the earthly clock runs out and bids us into timeless wonder.
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