Our Creation

A friend recently shared a vision with me where she saw Jesus walking toward a bassinet where she was lying as a baby. He picked her up and with great joy began singing love songs and dancing around with her in His arms. Then a bright beam of light from above imparted into her specific characteristics, talents, gifting and purpose. She then realized that the room was other worldly, as if this were a picture of her creation before birth. “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world…” Ephesians 1:4

Wait a minute, before the creation of the world? Can that really be true? Well, Psalm 139:13 teaches us, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” God lovingly, carefully and purposely created you. He created you to have a certain hair and skin color, to have certain aptitudes and interests and he created you to love Him. Do you believe it?

Years ago I had my own vision. I saw a large, wrapped gift, sitting on an urban street corner. A shiny, white Suburban pulled up and a well-groomed boy, sitting on the passenger side, powered down the window. Mildly interested, he studied the present. Then he turned up his nose, closed the shaded window, and drove away. Moments later, a barefoot kid in tattered clothes came running around the corner, saw the present and gleefully tore it open.

To me, the gift on the corner represents God offering us new life. But we each have a choice. If we think we don’t need it (like the boy in the suburban) we miss the gift and everything that goes with it. When we realize that our spiritual and emotional state is more like the impoverished kid, then we are in a place to receive it and its benefits.

We also need to see ourselves as God sees us. “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Rev. 3:17). This is a mystery, that we are both valuable and wretched. We were created and designed by God, but our sin separates us from him. Can you feel it? Can you see the beauty and the corruption in you? In Christ, God is offering the gift of new life. Will you receive it?

The beauty of this gift is that it keeps giving. If you’ve already accepted the gift, what else does God have for you? Never stopping seeking the God of new life because there is always more.

Parents, are you a doorstop?

If you have kids, you know that they like to test the boundaries. However, holding the boundaries can be one of the hardest tasks we face as parents. At times I’ve found myself guilt tripping my kids instead of giving them consequences. Guilt or shame says, “You are bad when you do that – stop it” which sends the message that they are only loved when they do the right thing. Enforcing boundaries, however, says, “You are not allowed to do that and I understand that you’re upset about it” which teaches them they are loved despite bad behavior.

While praying about this issue recently, I felt the Lord say, You are like a doorstop. Your son wants his way, so he pushes at you, but you need to stand firm, holding the door open for his future. He cannot see past tomorrow, so you must hold the vision for him. If you let him get his way in the moment, you are closing the door for a healthy future.

What a picture. I never thought of myself as a doorstop before, and can’t say that I relish the role. But the winds of testing always come and someone needs to be the doorkeeper. We parents have been given the sacred trust of raising adults. I want to step up to that role, so that my kids may experience a more satisfying and relationally healthy future.