Read: Ephesians 1:3-14
Watch: https://bibleproject.com/videos/new-humanity/
I love a good story! My favorite time in kindergarten was getting our mats, lying down, and listening to a story. I love adventure, history, and the mystery of what is just around the corner. I truly love an epic adventure—one that unfolds over time and keeps me guessing. Even when I know the story, I still love to go back and revisit the thrill.
The greatest adventure of all time, the greatest story ever told, is the story of God’s eternal plan. It all began long before history or time existed. Before anything physical was created, God had a plan—an elaborate design that would span countless millennia and involve the complex movements of time and space. But amidst the cosmic scale, the amazing, personal truth is this: God saw you.
This may be humbling to realize: that while the grand sweep of history and creation is vast, it has a startlingly personal application. It is all tied up in the moment you understood your need for Jesus and accepted Him as your Lord and Savior.
Let me be clear: The story is not centered on you! You are not the center of the universe. To think so is to live as the god of your own little world.
The whole of creation, the central character of this great epic, is the Lord Jesus Christ. The story revolves entirely around His birth, life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection. I like to say the cross is the permanent signpost of history.
But this grand plan included you and me. God chose to create humanity, knowing full well the Fall would happen. He chose to create you, with all your faults, failures, hurts, and habits.
Before the world was created, God saw you. As Jesus hung on that cross, you were the object of His redeeming love. In His great mercy, He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing!” You were included in the reason He was there!
The greatest story ever told is ultimately your story of redemption: your rescue, your adoption, your being made “one in Christ.” We are united in Christ through the moment of our salvation, united in Christ through His sacrificial death, united in Christ by the power of His resurrection, and united in Christ at the moment we, one day, see His face!
Pray: Even so, come, Lord Jesus come!
Discussion Questions:
- The greatest story is described as “your story, your rescue, your being adopted, your being united ‘in Christ!'”What is the difference between believing you are merely forgiven by Christ and believing you are united with Christ, and which of those two truths has a greater impact on your behavior this week?
2. “The whole point of all of creation is this: God saw you!” How does shifting your perspective from seeing salvation as a transaction to seeing it as a long-planned, personal decision by God (made before creation) change the way you understand your own value?
3. “You are not the center of the universe!” What practical habits, thoughts, or attitudes in your daily life most often tempt you to place yourself as the “god of your own little world”?
4. The cross is called the “signpost of history.” If Christ’s death is the center, what does that mean for how Christians should view or value human history, cultural achievements, and future advancements that do not explicitly mention God?
6. Jesus chose to create us “with all your faults, failures, hurts, hang-ups, and habits.” Which of these particular areas is the most difficult for you to believe God willingly factored into His plan, and how does that struggle affect your view of God’s current love for you?