Most of us would start such a definition with a description of what we do, then add something about our background. The more time we have, the more detail can be added about our personal preferences, personality traits, our hopes and dreams etc.

I’ve made a shocking discovery. Any definition of ourselves that starts with ourselves, is invalid! I did not begin me, design me, plan me! All that happened even before the creation of this world.

“⁴Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.   …  ^11-12It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.” Eph 1:4, 11-12

The only accurate way in which to define ourselves and understand ourselves is by what God does for us and thinks of us, not by what we do or think. I discover my value in the price He paid for me. I discover my significance in His thoughts toward me.

Rom 12:3 (MSG) Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

A sense of lack can only exist when our minds are on ourselves. Worry and fear thrives when when our focus is on ourselves.

Math 6:33,34 Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.  Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow.

My challenge is simply this – change your perspective; see things from His perspective. Don’t pay too much attention to what you believe or think of God, rather give your entire attention to what He believes and thinks concerning you!

Testimonies are great as a means of pointing towards the substance. However, the substance of our message is more than our personal journeys in life and more than God’s personal dealings with us. Ultimately, the substance of our message is an introduction to the person of Christ or our message has no substance at all. This gospel is more than the story of God’s involvement in my life so far, or your life so far. God wants to overwhelm us with the reality of His presence to such an extent that the past becomes irrelevant! Even the good memories, the testimonies of God’s goodness can become stale if our awareness of His very present reflection within us, is somehow lost.

There is a place of awareness – Paul called it the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord – that makes every other type of knowledge, discussion or perceived wisdom, irrelevant. Yesterday, today and tomorrow do not add or subtract from who He is. God is, long before time as we know it began. We may use the temporal and stories from our lives to point towards Christ, but he will always be greater and better than what the temporal can contain. He is Himself the content of the gospel and as such the gospel is more than stories about Him, it is the power of God unto salvation.

When Jesus prayed one of the last recorded prayers before His certain death, His words were not nostalgic regarding the past nor were they simply focused on the future, but the power of His testimony was found in its relevance to this moment. Hear what He said and notice the immediacy of His thought.

I have given them the glory You have given Me.

May they be one as We are one.

I am in them and You are in Me.

May they be made completely one,

so the world may know You have sent Me

and have loved them as You have loved Me.

Father, I desire those You have given Me

to be with Me where I am.

Then they will see My glory,

which You have given Me

because You loved Me before the world’s foundation. John 17:22-24

There are truths which remain true whether you believe them or not. Paul understood this and wrote ‘for we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth‘ (2 Cor 13:8)In the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God did something for and with mankind that is immutable – not subject or susceptible to change or variation in form or quality or nature. The success of what He accomplished is unchallenged, unaffected by unbelief. In Christ God removed every obstacle and hindrance that stood between Himself and man. He dealt with sin – all sin of all people. He invalidated guilt – it has no foundation. These are things He did for us, whether we are aware of it or not. But He also did something with us – in His death, we died. In His resurrection we were elevated to a new position of blameless innocence before God. “There’s no end to what has happened in you—it’s beyond speech, beyond knowledge.“ (1 Cor 1:5 MSG) These things do not become true when you believe them – they are true even if you are unaware of them. Even if no-one believed, the truth about man and God would remain true. “What if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? Not at all!” (Rom 3:3)
Fully persuaded

So if the truth remains truth no matter what I believe, does my faith really matter? Absolutely yes, in every way. We only experience the benefit of truth as we embrace it. “For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said” (Heb 4:2) The truth has no value for you individually, if it is not combined with faith. Paul wrote about the ‘wealth’ or ‘riches’ of being fully persuaded (Col 2:2) There is a richness of life, a rest of satisfaction, an abundance of contentment, that is only found in being fully persuaded.

Falling in love
Faith is so much more than correct information … as much as falling in love is more than knowing the facts about another person. When I met Mary-Anne, I did not not even know how to spell her name, her date of birth or background, but that did not stop my heart from responding with a ‘wow’. When a beautiful landscape appears before me, I instantly respond with appreciation without needing facts and figures. Faith is such a gift – its an instant response when encountering God. Whenever He reveals Himself we automatically respond with awe and adoration. Seeing what He sees causes us to believe what He believes. It is so much more than the pathetic ‘Statements Of Faith’ that some organisations publish. I’m so glad that neither Jesus nor Paul ever wrote a ‘Statement of Faith’ – they knew that the adoration they had in response to the beauty of the Father could never be reduced to a set of principles or neatly categorised into a doctrine. All we could ever hope to express is an introduction, an invitation for others to see what we see.

For the truth
‘for we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth‘ (2 Cor 13:8) Although we can do nothing against the truth, we can do something for it! We can allow it to have its full effect in us and through us. We can draw the maximum value and benefit from it as we combine it with faith, allowing God to persuade us fully as He is persuaded. 1Cor 1: 6 speaks about the testimony of Christ that has been confirmed in us.
Why do you think Paul, knowing that we can do nothing against the truth, would still risk his life and endure agonising persecution and torture for the sake of making this truth known. Well, we don’t have to guess, he wrote about his motivation. “For Christ’s love compels us, since we have reached this conclusion: if One died for all, then all died. And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised.” (2 Cor 5:14,15) Paul reached a conclusion – the conclusion that, what Christ accomplished, included all mankind … yet the full implication of this truth, the benefit of this truth still eluded the masses because of ignorance. The desire for others to enjoy the full benefit of these immutable truths, drove him to make this truth known as accurately as possible.
So what can we do for the truth? We can allow it to have its full effect in and through us. Allow the testimony of Christ to be confirmed in you. We do this as we continue to live in awe at the revelation brought to us through Jesus Christ. We do this as we allow our enjoyment of Him to overflow into loving others – a love that compels us to live for more than just ourselves.
The full value and benefit of the truth will be realized. He is not pressed by time or impatient to draw all men to Himself – He has all eternity to show us the full value and benefit of what He accomplished on our behalf “so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” until “all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father” (Eph 2:7; Phil 2:10,11)
We have the privilege of being co-workers with Him. You can read more about witnessing for Christ in an article called ‘Are-you-qualified-to-share-christ?‘

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