S155P8 – Certainty in an uncertain world: we are his pride
Col. 1:21-23
And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
A common characterization of our eventual judgment in the throne room is that of a court proceeding. We have an accuser who will accuse us for every sin we have committed, and we have an advocate who will take our place and cover us with his righteousness. We will escape judgment because our penalty already has been paid. We will be found blameless and will remain free. This is not an inaccurate characterization of what will occur, but it is only part of the picture. What we will experience on that day will be not merely a judicial proceeding. There also will be a presentation of the bride of Christ, of the purified saints. The Lord will present us to himself to admire his great work.
When God finished creation, He proclaimed that it was good. [Gen. 1:31] In my mind, I see him smiling and being proud of the great work He accomplished. When his sanctified children are presented before him on that day, I see the same thing. I envision God proclaiming that the work He completed through our sanctification is good. After all, we desire for him to proclaim the goodness of our work on that day. [Mt. 25:14-23] Yet, we know that we complete none of this work on our own. It is only by his grace and his power that we are able to do well for him. If we finish the race faithfully, it is only because He has made that possible. None of us can do an ounce of good on our own. The great unveiling of the purified Church will be a moment for God to admire his perfect handiwork.
I am not sure that I ever have to understand completely how God can be proud to present us as his. In fact, He already is happy to have us represent him. He has graciously given us the privilege of being able to be Christ in the world today. Whether now or then, we have a Father in heaven who is happy to call us his own. On that day, however, his pride at the work He has completed in his children will be for all to see. This will be no celebration in secret. Every enemy of his and ours will know the truth, and part of that truth is God proudly claiming us as his own. Father, thank You for graciously and gladly ransoming us from death through your Son, and we await the day when we will be publicly presented as your proud work.