If God knew from all eternity that the net result of all His creative activity, including the plan of redemption, would be only this tiny minority, comparatively speaking, then it may be presumed that this small group was the object of all of God’s previous plans, purposes, and creative enterprises. Therefore, it follows that it was for the sake of this small group that the universe was originated. It was for then that the inhabitants of outer space, the unseen world, were brought into being (Heb. 1:14). It was for them that the earth and world were formed. For their sake the Adamic race was born. To possess them, God Himself entered the stream of history in the Incarnation. And this small group is called the Church; the Bride, the Lamb’s Wife.
That excerpt is from Destined For The Throne by Paul E. Billheimer. If you’ve ever felt insignificant in life, this paragraph can change your perspective in a heartbeat. Matthew 7:14 says that few will find their way through the narrow gate of salvation. What Billheimer is saying is that every part of history from the creation of the world through the death and resurrection of Christ to the new heavens and new earth that is prophesied in Revelation is all for the sake of those few that accept the gift of salvation. Even angels exist on behalf of the Church.
Further still in a specific moment in history, God became flesh with no sin so that He could become the perfect sacrifice. Through His sacrifice on our behalf, we as the Church become heirs to the throne as the Bride of Christ. If you have accepted the gift of life through the blood of Jesus, then every part of history, including the death and resurrection of Christ as the center of His-story, has happened and will happen on your behalf. Knowing this should relieve you from any doubt that you are significant in the eyes of our Father.
Whether struggles with our worth comes from looking through the lens of worldly standards or feeling under-appreciated in our daily lives, we need to understand that that lens and those feelings are tactics of the enemy to cloud our view of the Father of history. We as the Church are in a battle against the evil one who was already defeated at Calvary. Billheimer sees this battle as on-the-job training for the Bride of Christ, and through prayer the Church is the co-conqueror in training for the throne. “…we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:37b
When I start to get down on my self, feeling worthless and out of place in the world, I need to look at myself from God’s perspective of history:
…the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
Romans 8:26b-30 (NIV) (emphasis added)
And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.
Romans 8:30 (NLT)