A massive “collision” happened before the foundation of the world, when all of humanity was created in Christ and designed for intimate fellowship with Him. This was a pre-Creation work, done on behalf of all humanity, before anyone got a chance to vote on the matter.  He included everyone into the Gospel story, and when He died, all died. This Work is universal, and the Scriptures make this abundantly clear.

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It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses [but cancelling them], and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favor). (2 Corinthians 5:19 AMP)

We see Jesus, who…suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. (Hebrews 2:9)

Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. (2 Corinthians 5:14)

That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe. (1 Timothy 4:10)

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Yet . . . in time and space, we each need to experience this “collision” in our real, earthly lives . . .

We respond to the Reality of what Christ accomplished by allowing the Gospel to collide with our real lives – our real stories, the ones that were shaped by our birth, experiences, cultural setting, church life, and more.

We have a free will to walk away from this Reality and live our own way, or we can respond in faith and trust in what Jesus did.  No one gets to experience this reality for themselves unless they experience this real-life collision, which is their own story running head-on into God’s Story.  The response to His universal Work must be personal, tangible, and real. It’s this collision that produces a Brand New Creation on the other side.

In other words . . . the “collision” that happened pre-Creation must be experienced as a “collision” in our real lives before our lives are transformed. That’s why sharing the GOSPEL (or sharing the STORY of what HE accomplished) needs to be shouted, proclaimed, and declared from the mountaintops. We are ambassadors of Christ for people to experience this collision for themselves, to enter into HIS story.  When we learn to see through His Lens (a Gospel-Shaped Lens), we start discovering the overwhelming truth of His love toward all those He created in His image and likeness for the purpose of intimate relationship. We also start discovering how much confidence He has in each of us to re-present Him on the earth, as His Body.

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 This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men. (1 Timothy 2:3-6)

[Jesus is] the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2)

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Christ, make Yourself known to us in Spectacular Ways that speak of Ancient Collisions – Your Eternal Gospel.

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(Above image by Aaron Dulley, from esciencelog.com)