Before You Were, You Were His!

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep . . . (Hebrews 13:20)

The writer of Hebrews was telling us that before we were even in existence, Jesus was on the way to save and sanctify us. Rightly understood, the truth of God’s eternal covenant will provide you with a peace that passes all understanding. You were on the mind and heart of God before you were on this earth! To be sure, our finite minds cannot begin to understand the eternal encouragement that this truth of a covenant as old as eternity has been designed to provide. That is why it requires our attention day and night. We must never lose sight of this unimaginable blessing, which is rooted in the good pleasure of our God (Ephesians 1:4-5). 

Think about it this way: Before you were, you were His! That means before you did anything worthy of God’s favor, His favor was already yours. Before you did anything commendable of His blessing, His blessing was already yours. Before you did anything to warrant His love, His love was already poured out on you. God has always dealt with you based on His mercy, not your merit. God has always related with you based on His grace, not your good works. God has always loved you based on His choice, not your character.

So if you did nothing to earn God’s favor, blessing, or love, it is secure forevermore, regardless of what you have done or will ever do in this life. If you do good, God will not love you any more; if you do badly, God will not love you any less. 

Perhaps you should read that again. Everything you need you already have because of the eternal covenant of God. You have His forgiveness, His pardon, His adoption, His acceptance, and His promise to finish what He started in your rescue (Philippians 1:6). How your heart should swell with joy unspeakable because God has given you a wellspring of life and a storehouse of love. How good must our God truly be to have established this covenant in eternity past and to extend it throughout eternity future? Surely we cannot begin to plumb the depths of our good God! 

Regardless of where this message finds you today, pause a moment to feast on its fullness. Before you were, you were His! There was never a time when you were not His. And remember, what God has joined together shall stay joined together forever and ever. And this unending union is not rooted in your faithfulness to Him (because we are so often unfaithful), but rather in His faithfulness to us. Let the life we live be a holy hymn that extols the glories of this eternal truth with every breath we take and every step we make. 

This is the Gospel.  This is grace for your race.  NEVER FORGET THAT…AMEN!