… ¹⁴who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

Forward looking grows out of backward reflection; the two combine into an ever-present and eternal reality. We look forward to what is ahead because of what is behind. The truth of eternity is anchored in our past earthly reality. To speak of time, that is, the sequence of before and after, is one of the difficult things to reconcile with eternity. Theologians invent phrases to capture that which we time-bound creatures cannot comprehend, expressions like “eternity past” or “eternity future.” What are these expressions but feeble attempts to describe those things outside of and beyond time? Time as we know it “began” at creation. It is not a “thing” to be created. Philosophers tell us that time is simply the measure of change. Outside of creation, there was and is only God, and He never changes (Mal. 3:6, Ps. 102:7, Heb. 13:8, James 1:17). When He created, then change began, and therefore time.

We tread lightly on such a topic, for we are daring to look beyond our human horizon. But God invites this contemplation by the way these things are presented to us. The crucifixion in our human sphere, in our time and space, triggers in us believers eager anticipation of entering into the wonderment more fully. All because we believed He has redeemed us!

The world’s way of life from which we have been redeemed had a limited horizon and thus looked for wonderment and pleasure in all the wrong places. Without God, what else were we able to do? We only had the creation to amuse us, and that only temporarily. But in Christ, through faith in His resurrection, God has freed us and removed every last stain that obscures His glory.

We discovered, in our relationship with Him, that our greatest fulfillment in life is to take our place as “His own possession,” which then leads us to passionately pursue doing good in the world. We repeat what Paul says elsewhere: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). It just doesn’t get any better than that.

The world’s way deceives us into thinking there is great joy in earthly pleasures and worldly philosophies, which for a time give some measure of contentment or ability to cope with our fallen world. But this is ultimately a lie. Only when we embrace our place in God’s trophy case, among His prized possessions, do we find our true calling and purpose in life. Only that will adequately motivate us for zealously pursuing that for which He created us!

Lord, thank You, thank You, thank You for redeeming me!