Where do I start?

I could go back to the story behind the Clark Story, way back to Adam and Eve. Or even further back to a place far away, long ago even before time, where I was in the thoughts of the Creator before the world was; ie. my “in-Christ-ness” rather than my “in-Adam-ness.”

Or my “I am-ness” rather than my “I am not-ness”…

That might be the best place to start, or rather, to re-start!

What if my “in Christ-ness” actually offers me a redo at critical junctures in my life? What if all of Christ’s promises to me are always good and have already been fulfilled? What if His finished work is actually finished? What if I am already complete in Him? What if “as He is, so am I in this world”? What if I have the same relationship with Abba (Papa) that Jesus has; the same intimacy right now that He enjoys?

What if I could explore the mind of Christ, and with it the life that is mine in Christ right now? What if there is no distance, delay or separation? What if eternity and time can merge? What if I could tap into His mind and perspective at each of those debilitating junctures in my life, those times that I believed lies about myself and, as a result, was disillusioned or distracted from my true identity?

What if I could find immediate transformation in regards to the impact of those situations in the here and now? In other words what if I can actually time travel with Papa? Could I get a re-do?

Now that is a novel idea! And I think it might even be the Gospel.

Can you believe that, before the world was created, God was not just thinking about me—He was longing for me with such affection and anticipation. He considered my design, my looks, of course, and my story. He knew how screwed up some of my thinking would be and He knew about my transformation; How He would infuse His love into my design and thinking processes in order for me to believe He was good and could be trusted. And He waited with such patience and anticipation for me to step into the intimacy He so desires.

He knew everything about me, where I would be born, and to whom, and their story, and before them how He would get our great, great grandparents out of England and eventually into Canada where we belonged… and on and on.

He was dreaming into the relationship He would have with me and how much pleasure I would bring Him. He placed such value in me, had to have me close, and inclusion in His family was how He would accomplish it. He decided way back then that I’d be family, for better or worse. Nah… it was always for better!

He planned for me in the sending of His Son to earth. He thought about what it would take to re-deem in me my original, created value because He already knew what my sin-conscious, distorted thinking would have done to me and how messed up I would be.

He wasn’t surprised by me. I didn’t catch Him off guard—never have and never will. His plan already incorporated my full redemption. He already deemed me worthy! I was made in His image and likeness, and on the cross, He re-deemed me worthy! He knew how my thinking would so impact my identity, separating me from the intimacy He’d dreamed about. He knew what giving me free will would do; to me and to the relationship He imagined. He knew which tree I’d be eating from. He also knew what it would cost Him. But oh, the joy to restore me to my original design!

So He came into this world as me, identifying with me in every area of life, including the separation I had bought into. And at the hands of humankind, on a tree outside the walls of Jerusalem, in a land far away, He carried humankind, and me, through the hell our choices had created for us.

Two thousand years ago, He clothed Himself in my separation—my lost identity. He became my sin, the distortion that so easily besets me. And in His beaten and bloodied body, He destroyed its power over me once and for all, making me brand-new, renewing all the potential and promise of which He had originally dreamed.

And now, 69 years in, I am starting to realize the story. It’s not a religious story. It’s a love story. This is my story and your story, as well as every person ever born on this planet… and it’s way cool!

Lloyd Clark is an entrepreneur, a former pastor, and a writer. He is passionate about being loved by our Heavenly Father and revealing that same love to everyone he meets. He and his wife Mary have 5 children and 7 grandchildren and live in North Carolina.

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