Four Stages of Life

UV 937/10,000 Four Stages of Life But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. Isaiah 43 v 1 These are the four stages of life: The Lord has created us. He has formed us. He has redeemed us. He has called us. All mankind is created by God. He also forms us in our mothers’ wombs fearfully and wonderfully. The formation or preparation continues when He allows different events and situations to arise in our lives. He allows different people to come in contact with us. Through these circumstances, He grooms and shapes us. Our character, personalities and minds are formed. The first two stages of our lives are the predominantly natural phases while the next two are the phases in which the natural interfaces and mingles with the supernatural or spiritual. After our creation and a period of formation, He redeems us in Christ. This marks the beginning of a new relationship with God. It marks the beginning of a new process of re-creation and formation in our lives. Our thought pattern is influenced by His Word. Our minds are redeemed. The tares that the enemy has planted and that has got entangled in our very genes are removed so that we can be fruitful. We are freed from being enamoured with sin and the trappings of the world. We are now zealous for good works for the Lord. We are called by the Lord. We are called out of all creation. He never calls us in vain. He never calls a person unless He has a purpose for that person. We are anointed or declared sacred and precious to the Lord. He calls us by our name even as Samuel heard the Lord calling him by his own name. He called Samuel to be a prophet to Israel and to lead the nation of Israel in His paths. Samuel was directed to anoint David the shepherd boy as future king of Israel. David was called out of all his family and out of all his brothers. The Lord had watched him in his formative stage when he tended the shape. He saw his devotion to his sheep. He saw his bravery in overpowering the lion and the bear. He saw His devotion to God- how he continually composed psalms and played on his harp. We have a personal and intimate relationship with the Lord as Jacob or Israel had with God. We, too, are given a divine calling to be either an apostle, a prophet, a teacher or an evangelist. Each of us is called to be a priest and a king. Our personal knowledge of God is the common ground on which we can stand and communicate with Him at any time and all the time. When we are created, formed, redeemed and called, we become His own inheritance, the precious jewels of the Lord. He declares, “ You are mine.” Prateep V Philip