Future Self: Teen Zine vol. 5 part 2, Chapter 1: ancient of days—where it all began
Juliette Alvey
Part Two of the Future Self Teen Zine, titled Your Future is In Your Past: Promises of God (Before the Foundations), begins a series of chapters that dig into specific Bible stories that shed light on our futures. The first chapter begins with “where it all began,” which is of course… creation!
Looking back to a time when none of us existed sounds like a strange way to understand our futures. But for God, this is where we began, because he knew us before the foundations of the world. The psalmist says, “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Ps 139:16). Paul tells us in the book of Ephesians, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes” (Eph 1:4).
One of the response activities in the zine asks, “Is it hard to imagine God thinking of you before you were born? Imagine that God has always known you… and when the stars were born and the universe was set into motion, God was also orchestrating a plan for your future life” (p. 025). I don’t know how teens will answer that question, but for me the answer is a definite “Yes!” Yes, it is very hard to imagine God thinking of me waaaay back then. It is impossible for me to wrap my brain around.
This truth has deeper implications for our teens and for us than just being a mind-blowing fact. Sometimes we are tempted to look in the mirror and think we are random, not good enough, or that we aren’t important. God’s truth is the complete opposite of what the world tells us and what we tell ourselves.
I was chatting with another mom at a school event recently, and both of us have freshmen at the high school who came from middle schools outside of the district, meaning they both had to start fresh with making friends this year. As we talked, she shared with me about the activities her daughter is doing: how she loves band, how many friends she’s made in show choir, and all about her academic successes. Honestly, it sounded like things couldn’t have been better! When I responded with, “Wow, it sounds like she’s doing great for her first year!” her mom hesitated a bit, and then got down to the truth. She said, “Yeah, she is very social and enjoying the things she’s doing, but still… she comes home most days after school, plops down on her bed, and cries. She says, ‘Mom! No one really knows me!’”
The truth is we can have a million friends and look like we’re having lots of fun, but unless we are truly known, we feel lonely.
This story made my eyes tear up. I think we can all relate to what this young girl was feeling. As adults, we know that this feeling of truly being known is hard to come by even in the most intimate relationships. Not even a parent or a spouse knows everything about us.
The Apostle John tells the story of when Nathanael was called by Jesus: It is short and sweet, and honestly leaves me with a lot of questions. As Philip drags the doubtful Nathanael along to “come and see” the man they believe is the messiah, John reports, “When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, ‘Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.’ ‘How do you know me?’ Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, ‘I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Then Nathanael declared, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel’” (John 1:47-49). Again, this leaves me with questions… Why is Nathanael so impressed that someone saw him? How could he tell that Jesus really knew him? How did Nathanael go from saying that nothing good can come out of Nazareth to making a proclamation of faith in Jesus as the Messiah in a split-second?
We may not get enough details in this story to satisfy our curiosity, but one thing is clear. When Jesus sees us, he really sees us. Nathanael recognized that. But just being seen is not enough… there is something different about the way Jesus sees people. He doesn’t just know someone, he looks on them with compassion. Even from the cross, Jesus showed concern for others: asking his Father to forgive the ones crucifying him, assigning John to take care of his mother, forgiving the thief on the cross… Jesus denies himself and sees the person in front of him. He gave up his life for us, and because of this, we are seen for who we truly are AND fully loved and accepted.
