Paul writes, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” (Ephesians 1:3) That
is an easy sentence to read, but difficult to comprehend fully and to believe!
Yet Paul tells us that this is a truth we can build our lives upon. When Jesus
prayed for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, he did not
imagine that it would just somehow happen despite the choices and decisions of
people, rather he knew that for God’s will to be done on earth lots of
individuals have to choose to listen to and follow the Father. Since you won’t
follow someone you do not trust, we must first learn to trust God if we are
going to be blessed in the heavenly realms!
Paul tells
us that in Christ we have some significant reasons to trust God: we are adopted
as God’s children, we are redeemed from our sins, we are chosen to bring God
glory, and we are marked by the Holy Spirit. Talk about some serious spiritual
blessings! What else could we need? We are welcomed into God’s family through
his willingness to adopt us! We are forgiven of our sins and failures by his
marvelous grace the he lavishes on us! We are chosen by God so that he can work
though our lives and be glorified because of us! We are given the Holy Spirit
to live inside our hearts and minds to confirm our adoption and continuing
status as dearly loved children of God!
But what is
God up to by doing all these things? Is he just trying to give us nice
experiences so that we enjoy our lives? Or is he trying to do something larger
with his creation through us? Paul tells us plainly: With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his
good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to
be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all
things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
(Ephesians 1:8-10) God is working to answer the prayer of Jesus for his will to
be done on earth as it is in heaven, and he is using his obedient children as
the tools to make it happen! What a great description of the purpose of our
faith – to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ!
So if your
concept of blessings is that God gives you little gifts that you can enjoy in
private, you could not be more wrong. God is giving you tremendous gifts –
gifts that will satisfy your soul and ease your mind – to be used to share with
everyone around you so that God’s desire for his kingdom to actually rule all
creation – on earth as it is in heaven – will become reality. On that day sin
will be no more, death will be completely defeated, love will reign on the
earth and God will join his family as the holy city descends and God makes his
dwelling place with us!
If you have
placed your faith in Jesus Christ, you have been blessed beyond your wildest
imagination. You are adopted, forgiven, chosen to bring God glory and marked
with the Holy Spirit. Live like it!
If you have
not placed your faith in Jesus Christ, what are you waiting for? Your heart and
soul long to be blessed, and Jesus is eager to pour his blessings into your
life. Trust him today!
- Kenny Payne
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