Through and To

When faced with the cross, Jesus looked past it to the ultimate joy set before Him. He foresaw the magnificent outcome for Himself and the vast multitude of people He was buying with His sacrifice. He looked past the suffering to the glorious result. That empowered Him to endure. That's what the Bible says in Hebrews 12:2.

We are to do the same thing, looking beyond any present distress we may encounter.

In an example for us, the Apostle Paul went through very rough times but wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:17 "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."

Paul considered his troubles to be a light and temporary affliction when compared to the glorious future He had been shown. In like manner, we should look past distress in this life to the glorious outcome God is orchestrating.

Today, I’m talking about God taking us Through things to get us To things. The "Through" portion of the journey is where you are now. The “To” portion of your journey is where you’re headed. You must navigate the “Through” portion before arriving at the “To” portion. There's good in the “Through” portion of this journey, but also plenty of struggle. The struggle will try to keep you from looking forward. It will take ALL of your attention if you let it. That's not good. So, don't let it.

In the big picture, God wants to take you Through the brokenness of this world To a wonderful eternity. That new life and the transformation it brings begins the moment you're born again. The new life then keeps going far, far beyond your time here.

The Lord Jesus is the only way out of this mess...out of your mess...into His total victory. His rescue is the ONLY rescue from final Judgement and eternal condemnation in the Lake of Fire. Revelation 21:8 

There is absolutely no other rescue. None. Jesus is your only hope. He is the only chance you have to be cleansed from sinful heart rebellion against God. Jesus is the only way you can be placed in right relationship with God, the only way to be made pure in the eyes of God.

The wonder and majesty of His rescue will go on and on, far beyond the bounds of this life. Understand this: His rescue is about far more than you being forgiven. His rescue is about far more than simply keeping you from sin and the wrath of Hellfire.

His rescue is complete. It’s very very good. It brings deep change. I picture the way a caterpillar is fully transformed in its cocoon. What was once a slimy caterpillar is a caterpillar no longer, finally emerging as a beautiful butterfly. It has undergone a full transformation. That full transformation is a picture of what He wants to do with us.

Once you are born-again, you enter the “Through” portion of your journey. He leads you to put your born-again life on the altar before Him. The Bible calls it being a living sacrifice. Romans 12:1&2 in The Voice translation puts it like this:

"Brothers and sisters, in light of all I have shared with you about God’s mercies, I urge you to offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice to God, a sacred offering that brings Him pleasure; this is your reasonable, essential worship.

Do not allow this world to mold you in its own image. Instead, be transformed from the inside out by renewing your mind. As a result, you will be able to discern what God wills and whatever God finds good, pleasing, and complete."

End quote.

Putting yourself on His altar sets you apart for Him, for His use. It lets Him fix what needs to be fixed, change what needs to be changed, delete what needs to be deleted. Being born again is an event, but what follows is a process, not an event.

So, choose to put your imperfect self, just as you are, on His altar. Jesus said that the altar sanctifies...that is, sets apart for holiness ...the gift. Matthew 23:16-19.

Do you want to be sanctified and made holy? Then choose to place your entire imperfect life on His altar. Ask Him to help you do it. If you wait until you're perfect before taking that step, you'll never take it.

The sacrifice of Jesus changed everything. He stole life from death and makes it possible for you to depend on His rescue, to become a living sacrifice, to be transformed and find your destiny in Him.

Do you really have any other option? Well, yes, you do. That other option is to reject His rescue and plan for your life. But why would you want to do that?

Jesus has good plans, really good plans, the very best plans. In fact, His plans are your reason for existing, the reason you were made. His plans answer the question "Why am I here?" But walking out His plan is not automatic. The choice to be on His altar is yours.

This entire creation was made through Him, by Him, and for Him (John 1:3 and Colossians 1:16&17). That bears repeating: This entire creation was made through Him, by Him, and for Him. 

Jesus knows what He did, why He did it, and what He's doing.

So, put your life on His altar. Trust Him to take you “Through”, then “To”. THROUGH all aspects of this life, then TO the incredible future He has planned. Only He can get you there.

In John 14:6, Jesus says “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." He doesn't just point out the way, the truth, and the life; He IS the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

The Lord despises the evil that runs deep in this present world. It disgusts Him. He has distinct plans to change the temporary, very ugly phase of human existence we're in, but for now freedom of choice means there is still much deep seated rebellion against Him. At times, the evil seems to dominate. But it's destined to lose.

Psalm 2:1-5 says it like this:

"Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us."

"He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure."

End quote.

Yes, people rebel against God, and the rebels seem very threatening. But in the end, all who reject Him have only bought damnation for themselves.

In contrast to that rebellion and the guaranteed condemnation it brings, God has an over-riding agenda for eternity. His plan involves taking as many transformed souls as possible into heaven with Himself through Jesus. His path of mercy and grace...forgiveness and transformation...is for whosoever will (Revelation 22:17).

God does not force Himself on anyone. Those who come to Him through Jesus...who sell out to Him through Jesus...do so in response to His love. It is ultimately the most right thing you can do.

Remember that we are headed TO a future that is beyond glorious. That's the guaranteed destiny God has in store for those who belong to Jesus. So, for now, give this "Through" portion of your journey the attention it needs, but not so much that you lose sight of the vastly bigger "To" portion of your future.

Here's what I mean: This life is about far more than this life. Whatever difficulty you're dealing with in this life is temporary. It's passing away.

IF you belong to Jesus, but only if, you'll find great strength in looking at the "To" portion of your destiny, because that is permanent and glorious far beyond whatever passing difficulty this "Through" happens to include.

I really like the way Colossians 3:2 reads in The Message Bible:

"Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—keep your mind on things above."

Back to the New King James version, Paul also wrote 

"...I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me... One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize...". 

That's part of what's found in Philippines 3:13-15.

There are other Bible passages that also direct us to look past the debris of this life. Here's the bottom line: The more you foresee the "To" portion of your life journey, the stronger you'll be in the middle of the "Through" stuff.

In 2 Corinthians 4:18, Paul wrote "We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

You may have heard this next phrase used in a secular context, but its greatest application is a Christian one: "Keep your eye on the prize."

If doing that was good for Jesus and worked for Paul, it's definitely good for you. "Keep   Your   Eye   On   The   Prize."

There's a lot of truth in that. Don't lose sight of the prize.