“Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own through what Christ would do for us. . . His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us.”Ephesians 1:4-5 (TLB)
The whole reason God created the universe is because he wanted a family—and that family is the church. His church is the only reason the universe exists.
Did you know that before God thought of the universe, he thought of you? That's how valuable you are; that's how much you matter to God.
How can you tell something is really valuable to someone? By looking at what they’re willing to pay for it. Christ died for the church. When someone's willing to give their life for something, it has incredible value.
The Bible says, “Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own through what Christ would do for us . . .His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us” (Ephesians 1:4-5 TLB).
Long before God made the world, his unchanging plan has been to accomplish his purposes through the church—not through nations, governments, or corporations. Earthly institutions are temporary, and they’re not big enough to tackle all the global problems. Only the church is big enough. And only the church will last forever.
Let's put this in perspective. It’s estimated there are about 2.5 billion Christians in the world today. That’s more people than live in China, the world’s most populous country.
So, not only does the church have the greatest participation on the planet, but it also has the highest motivation: God’s love. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because he first loved us” (NIV).
Isn’t it incredible to know that the church, the whole reason God created the universe, is motivated by God’s love? That’s just another reason why there is no greater privilege than to be part of God’s family.
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
Your Gift Brings Hope to the World
God has dreams for your life!
In Pastor Rick’s book "Created to Dream: The 6 Phases God Uses to Grow Your Faith," you’ll learn how to discover God’s custom-made dream for your life—a dream that is bigger and better than anything you could ever dream up on your own! And you’ll find practical help for navigating challenges, delays, and detours that stand in your way.
We’d love to send you a copy as our way of saying thank you for your generous gift below to help take the hope of Jesus to more people through Daily Hope.
Request yours when you give today—and thank you for your partnership!
*All gifts will be doubled up to the full amount of the grant. Thank you for your generous support! *The USA IRS code permits you to deduct the amount of your financial gift to Daily Hope that exceeds the fair market value of materials you received from Daily Hope.