Before Time…

“And now Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” (John 17:5, NIV)  

The Lord Jesus prayed this prayer just before His crucifixion. He knew His time is near to be the sacrificial lamb. Genesis 1:1 tells us that, “In the beginning, God…” Before time began, God is… In fact, one of the titles of our Lord Jesus is the “Alpha and Omega.” When God created humankind, He said, “Let us make man after our own image and likeness.” The pre-incarnate Christ is there before flesh was created. But man fell into sin. So the Lord Jesus Christ, in humility, self-abnegation, and servility; the Creator of all things, one with the Father and the Holy Spirit, took upon Himself the form of a servant, born in the flesh and dwelt among us. Isn’t His name Emmanuel meaning “God with us”? Didn’t murder ferment in the hearts of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and man of high standing in His days when Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I AM.”?

What great condescension (step down from a state of dignity to a state of inferiority) the Lord sacrificed out of His love for us. He was born in a borrowed manger and died in a borrowed tomb. Jesus once said in Luke 9:58, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head.” (Believe me, it’s a terrible condition to be homeless.) 

The Lord Jesus carved 33 years from time and eternity to serve and to save. He knew how it is to be hungry, and He knew the deepest sadness as He is called “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” He knew the worst pain and tiredness. He knew how it is to be under such stress and pressure that He sweat drops of blood. He felt the pain of rejection and being shamed. Believe me, He knew and experienced all the worst that human beings go through. Then He eventually sacrificed Himself and died for all of us so that we can have everlasting life.

And because of all that Jesus Christ did for us, Philippians 2:9-10 concluded, “Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place, and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father!”

Friend, have you acknowledged Him as Lord?

Yes, all will declare Jesus is Lord but let us do it before it is too late. Make Him your Lord and King today!

   – Contributed by Sis. Debbie Cavero