The greatest story ever told...

I have had this line going through my head for about three days now...

From the beginning to the end of the story, it was all about the Lamb....

The story... the story of creation, the story of eternity, the story of man, the story of this world... before the foundations of the world, the God-head, out of the desire of their heart, wrote a wondrous story.

He wasn't always the Lamb, but He was always.

John 1 tells us that:

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

Jesus is the Eternal Son. He has been the expression of the Father since time immemorial. Any expression of the Father is the Son. (It's helpful when pondering this, to remember that the God-head is One triune being...God the Father is so passionate and zealous to glorify the Son and the Son to glorify the Father, and the Holy Spirit to reveal Him to us because they are One)

Colossians 1 tells us as well,

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Hebrews says that he is the radiance of the glory of God. The light of His glory. The visible manifestation of Him.

No wonder Jesus said that if we have seen Him, we have seen the Father. (John 14:9).

He is the expressed image of the Father, from everlasting to everlasting. Imagine it. Time. Stretching back back back into eternity... null and void except for the God-head. Out of the desire of their heart they wrote a story.

A story about a Lamb and His Bride. In that moment, the Eternal Son became the Lamb, the Bridegroom, the Judge, the King. He was given a name: Jesus.

Before one created thing came into being, the story was already written. To be made manifest in the fullness of time...

1 Peter 1 (speaking of our ransom from darkness)

¹⁹ with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. ²⁰He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you

Revelation 13:8

⁸and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

2 Timothy 1:9

⁹ [our Lord] who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, ¹⁰and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Truly, since before the beginning the story has been written. The Word spoken, echoing for eternity. The story of the Lamb of God.

Jesus didn't just come to save us because everything went astray after He created it. That would seem ridiculous. We were never the point. The Lamb was always the central character of the storyline.

Colossians 1

¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

He made it through Him, by Him, and for Him. He gave Himself for His creation, in order to reconcile it all to Himself. That in all things, he might be preeminent.

The gospel isn't a what; it's a WHO. Jesus is the Good News. The Good News is this thread throughout all of history. His Story.

The Value of The Life of One Thing

So here's the point for us today.

From the beginning to the end. It is all about Him. And so, we set our hearts to this lifestyle of One Thing,

Psalm 27:4

One thing have I asked of the LORD,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to inquire in his temple.

In seeking to know the worth and beauty of Jesus and then glorifying Him, we can count on the fact that the Holy Spirit will come and move mightily in our lives, giving us grace to keep seeking Him and the power of the age to come living and active in our lives. Because it is the primary goal of God to glorify the Son and the primary work of the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to us.

Joining our value system to the Father's is this simple. And it is so important to Him. He will stand for nothing less than the absolute preeminence of His Son. Perhaps I'll write a second post on that...

It's just all about the Lamb. He was not given for us so much as we are made for Him. Creation itself was only the backdrop for this epic drama. We must come into agreement with this if we are to be true discipels of Christ. Our dreams, desires, personalities, relationship skills (most of what we make church about these days) are really quite secondary to the Lord.

The way that we preach Christianity in the West is just really so so backwards. We ask Jesus to come into our hearts and our lives... to save US. To make our lives better....

I pray that God gives you grace today to see a new revelation of the Worth of Jesus. Meditating on this is one of the most valuable things that we can give our time to. It anchors us in what is important and makes the ground of our hearts fertile soil for the fruit of the Spirit.

I want to agree with the Father in His zeal for the Son.

I don't want to ask Him to come be the center of my life anymore. I want to be in His.

Catch me up in Your story. All my life for Your glory.