Three passages I would like to begin with that can be the synopsis—past, present, and future—of our life in Christ.
Past: “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love” (Ephesians 1:4 NASB).
Present: “’For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11 NASB).
Future: “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:2-3 NASB).
The first page in God’s plan for a believer’s life began in eternity past in that they “would be holy.” The last page concludes with seeing Him on that day as one who “purifies himself” in Christ. In between those two are the chapters of life the Lord has planned for you.
This is the book that is your story.
Witness Lee (a co-laborer with Watchman Nee) wrote this about man, eternity past, and man’s story:
“If you could ask God why the record is so short [information on eternity past], I believe He would say, ‘Do you not realize that in the beginning, in eternity past, there was no man? I have no interest in that because I want to be in man that I can be one with man. I wanted to make man so that he can be like Me. This is My interest.’ Now we can understand why the Bible is full of men, even full of men with troubles of all kinds. It is in all the troubles among men that God is revealed. We can know God in His history only through man’s stories.”[1]
We can know God in His history only through man’s stories really spoke to me as I read Lee’s work.
In the life of the Son of Man, I obviously see God, as “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Colossians 1:15 NASB). In reading of Hebrews 11 and all the stories of faith through the lives of the men and women cited, I can see God, faith, and practice.
And that is where your story comes in. It is a story planned by God and also enters God’s plan.
Granted, very few of us will be named specifically in a faith “Hall of Fame;” however, tucked inside Hebrews 11 is a verse that can be attributed to all who in in faith,
“(men of whom the world was not worthy)….”
– Hebrews 11:38 NASB
What that phrase meant in the First Century means the same in the 21st: “The world was unworthy of them though it treated them as worthless. The Greek would also admit the meaning that they outweighed in value the whole world.”[2]
Another thought about the First Century and ours: The Apostle Paul penned, “You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men” (2 Corinthians 3:2 NASB), meaning that there are times when the only “Bible” others may read are the pages of a believer’s life.
Why did Paul say that?
One reason is that the literacy rate in the Roman Empire in the First Century was estimated to be about 10%. That means that only 1 in 10 people could read Mark’s gospel for example[3]; hence, the need to live the Word so it could be read. While our literacy level is certainly higher, today’s video culture dictates the need for our story to be a “human video” so God “can be known” through our story.
Therefore, your story is so very important. In all its ups-and-downs, in all its ebbs and flows, your story is needed…and He saw it from before the foundation of the world.
Always remember, His plan for you is part of His plan for all.
Prepare for that day…by living your story!
