Provenance.

Until about a month ago, I didn’t know the meaning of the word.

After having heard it for the first time, I looked it up in a dictionary.

Provenance, defined, means the origin or source of something or its history of ownership.

I have no conscious memory of being born.

The recollection of the first months of my life seems unattainable.

I have very clear memories of my second year, although they are only a few in number.

By three years old?

I remember a lot.

Of course, my capacity to recollect increased considerably after that.

My origin?

Who really claims ownership over me?

I learned that much later.

God created me and gave me life.

It is He who truly owns me.

There came a point as I matured where I understood more than this.

I understood that I was a sinner—as all are—and I was in need of forgiveness from God.

Jesus died on the cross, paying the penalty for all my sin, so that I could receive this redemption.

Believing this, I repented and asked God to forgive me.

At that very moment, a new point of personal origin came into being.

My new life as a Christian began.

Provenance.

Knowing Jesus gives the word a whole new meaning…

*
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

–Ephesians 2:8

*

Click image to enlarge.