Repossessed (def) -to take something back from a person who is buying it over a period of time because they cannot continue to pay for it. Our great creator, God, made His creation to live in the bliss of His glory for eternity and everything was just perfect, until the eating of the forbidden fruit and Adam and Eve's eyes were opened. Eyes opened can be good and can be bad. For them it was bad!! Sin entered the world of man and the penalty for sin was eternal death. God's possession for eternity took on a whole new standing with Almighty God. Man was no longer God's possession, but was separated from the creator because of sin. In this impure condition the relationship changed for eternity.....but then hope was born as a baby in a little town called Bethlehem. This birth was foretold by the prophet Isaiah and all hope was waiting for this glorious one known as Messiah!! Isaiah wrote the following words given to Him by God in Isaiah 9:2 where he says 2 The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them. God reaches out to redeem and repossess His creation and gives His son as a ransom for His children. Hope is born and we are once again in a position of right standing with our creator and it is all because of Jesus, our Savior. Sin had taken hold of man and satan used his so-called victory to take this creation into a darkened state of hopelessness. The scourge of sin caused God's creation to think that they could do anything on their own, to only fail again and again miserably because everything was marred by the sin condition of that creation.
Walking in this darkness, God's creation, with their open eyes, began to believe in themselves and the knowledge they could acquire and turned their eyes from seeking God to seeking themselves and their own accomplishments. When Jesus was born His light showed into this dark land and not only showed the way to God, but also showed the sinful creation their shortcomings. With the birth of Jesus our sinful world had the hope of being made right with God, but still many rejected God. Chasing their own way, the natural man turned to their own strength and knowledge to fill the God-sized void in their souls. The pride of satan was taken on by man and the belief that we can make it on our own prevailed as never before. But the baby grew and grew and moved into a position of strength to the point that those who were religious could not comprehend how God's plan could be this way.
You see, pride always causes imperfect man to reject the hope given by God, because the natural man has to choose his imperfect god, satan. Paul wrote about these things in this way in 1 Corinthians 2:14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. So the one who rejects Christ is rejecting the hope of salvation that has been provided by God to repossess His children. You might say "Then there is no hope for man, if he only rejects the gift of God through His ultimate sacrifice of His Son." But Jesus said in John 6:44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. Jesus makes a way and the Holy Spirit is the drawing power of the natural man to God. The Holy Spirit convicts man of sin and man has a choice at that point to repent and turn to God or keep on living his life on loan.
In the midst of this decision making we read of the specifics that Jesus tells us about in John 14 where He says " “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.2 In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.4 And you know the way where I am going.”5 Thomas *said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?”6 Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. Our Heavenly Father speaks through the Son to give us the hope of salvation from sin, and eternal life with God the Father. Through Jesus we get to "know" the Father and once again the creation is in right relationship with the Creator. We are His possession once again and God gives us His Spirit as a guide to live our lives while still in the midst of a sinful world. But no longer does this world satisfy the creation. Our only satisfaction is found in our intimate relationship with the Father and His guidebook, the Bible, becomes our way of knowing Him more and more. The Word becomes our ultimate guide to living the abundant life promised by God and the writer of Hebrews brings all of this into focus in Hebrews 4:12 where he says, "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
We have been repossessed by our Creator and we now know how to live our lives in relationship with that Creator. A day is coming when we will see Him face to face and spend eternity in utter perfection with our God. John described how our home will look in Revelation (unveiling) and pulled back the curtain to reveal our heavenly home. May we be about sharing God's message of hope with a lost and dying world so they can make a choice about where they want to spend eternity. Today is your day to share the message of hope.
The Pilgrimage Continues.....
David Warren
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