In Ephesians 1:4-5 I read, “Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own through what Christ would do for us . . . His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us.” (TLB)
To get ready to be used by God, the first thing I need to do is understand the purpose of my life.
The Bible makes God’s purpose for you very clear in today’s verse. “Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own through what Christ would do for us . . . His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us” (Ephesians 1:4-5 TLB).
God made me to be part of his family. He made me so he could have a relationship with me—to love me and to be loved in return. But there’s only one way to become part of God’s family: through faith in Jesus Christ.
Not only does God want me to be part of his family but he also wants me to spend eternity with him. Ephesians 1:10 says, “This was his purpose: that when the time is ripe he will gather us all together . . . to be with him in Christ forever” (TLB). God’s purpose is, first, that I become part of his family and, next, that I get to know him. Then he wants me to spend all of eternity with him.
History is moving toward a climax. One day God will gather everyone who’s put their faith in him, and they will live together with him in heaven.
Life here on Earth is preparation for eternity. The Bible says that God has “set eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV). That means I was made to last forever. I was made for eternity. Every human being is going to live forever in one of two places: with God in heaven or apart from God in hell.
God didn’t create me just for the 80 or 90 or however many years I have on this planet. God has long-range plans for my life. So, what is life on Earth about? It is preparation for eternity. In other words, God is more interested in preparing me for eternity than he is in simply making me happy here and now. Of course, he loves me and wants me to be happy—but not at the expense of my preparation for eternity.
Life is a dress rehearsal; it’s the warm-up act for the big event. I need to get prepared for eternity by getting to know God, becoming more like Jesus, and letting God use me to fulfill his purpose on Earth.
In summary, God chose me to be his very own through what Christ would do for me. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt me into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for me. So to get ready to be used by God, the first thing I need to do is understand the purpose of my life. God made me to be part of his family. He made me so he could have a relationship with me, to love me and to be loved in return. There’s only one way to become part of God’s family and it’s through faith in Jesus Christ. God’s purpose is, first, that I become part of his family and, next, that I get to know him. Then he wants me to spend all of eternity with him. One day God will gather everyone who’s put their faith in him, and we will live together with him in heaven. Life here on Earth is preparation for eternity and I was made to last forever. Every human being is going to live forever in one of two places: with God in heaven or apart from God in hell. God has long-range plans for my life. So, what is life on Earth about? It is preparation for eternity. God is more interested in preparing me for eternity than he is in simply making me happy here and now. He loves me and wants me to be happy—but not at the expense of my preparation for eternity. Life is a dress rehearsal. I need to get prepared for eternity by getting to know God, becoming more like Jesus, and letting God use me to fulfill his purpose on Earth.
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