Where Do You Come From?

Where do you come from? You have probably had people ask that question a time or two throughout your life, and so have I. Do you tell them where you live now, or where you grew up as a child? Or do you go back even farther, and give them the name of the town, state, or country where you were born?

Where do you come from? Generally this question can be answered with facts and maybe dates, depending on how long you lived in a certain location. It is always easy to rattle off quick statistics, but those stark and cold answers do not give us the sum total, nor the complete answer of who you are or where you come from.

There is so much more to you, and to me,
than mere facts and dates.

So why don’t we stop for a few moments, and take a different approach! One where we go back to the beginning, putting a special emphasis on the entire person. The unique you, complete with body and soul; does that change things? I wonder how our answer might be different when asked, “Where do YOU come from?”

Let me explain further. For each of us, scripture makes it very clear from where we came. Christ knew us when we were first being knitted together, while we were being created in our Mother’s womb. Every one of us, unique and seen by God even before we saw our first glimpse of daylight, in utter seclusion. No matter the circumstances of our birth, wanted or unwanted, God, through scripture, is letting us know, our life is significant and wonderfully made.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
(Psalm 139:13-16a NLT)

This is where you come from! Before we even saw the light of day, we were delicately and marvelously made, and He was the one who saw us. We were in His sight, before we were ever born. Have you grasped this fact, or is this truth new to you? He, above all others, thinks you are a marvelous creation? For some, it may be hard to believe the depth of this reality. For others, there are days it can be forgotten, when voices or events try to override or negate these verses. But, the good news is God’s truth stands!

Now let’s focus on another moment. As clearly as we can see how unique we are, and how He was watching us from that first moment we began, have you ever contemplated the reverse moment; when you first met the Lord? When your eyes became focused and you became fully aware that you were in the presence of the one who created you? Again, for each person that moment is unique.

This is the moment your heart knows where it came from! For me, it will forever be etched in my minds eye. I had heard of the Lord well before this special moment and had certainly already begun to comprehend who He was, but on this day, something changed. The eyes of my heart were opened as I sat on a porch swing looking out on the blue ridge mountains in Kentucky. This was the moment I knew for sure He was absolutely real. And right there, my heart became His. He was my home. There was an assurance that I was sitting safely in His mountains, in His world, on His porch. He was my Lord, and this was where my heart came from.

Certainly, the moment we read of in scripture, where He sees us being formed, with all our unique and delicate features, is so precious. He was there and He knew YOU. Time passed. For some it was a short amount of time, just a few years, but for others it may have been decades before we were facing our Savior. However, that time does come. Everyone comes to a time and place where a decision must be made! “Will I give my heart to the one who created me?” It is our very own decision time. No one can do this for us.

This IS where you decide where you come from! This is your individual story. The real YOU begins right here, right now. Getting to this point is very unique in each individual life. There may have been joy, there may have been heartaches getting to this point. You may have lived many years or just a few. You may not have been wanted upon your entrance into this world, but no matter your past, God wants you. God’s hand has always been reaching for you.

Once your hand is in His, a journey of possibilities begins. Now you get to see the first reflection of the real YOU, the one He always knew you were created to be. He saw those possibilities while you were yet being formed, but you had to come to a point where the journey could begin. You had to ask Him to forgive anything that ever came between the two of you.

By faith and through grace, our hearts can finally know where we came from. Our God has known it all along. He was patiently waiting for us to invite Him into our lives, the life He had created. God believed us worth every ounce of His love. He lovingly watched as we were wonderfully and uniquely formed. And long before we took hold of our Heavenly Father’s hand, our Lord had already laid His life down for each of us.

He sacrificed everything for us so that one day we could finally know;
This IS where we come from!

 

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
(Psalm 139:14-18 NLT)