Tag: lavished upon
Chosen in Him!
Scripture reading for August 25: Ephesians 1
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, . .” Ephesians 1:3-8
According to Paul, those ‘in Christ’ are beyond blessed! God, our Father, chose us before the world was formed to be ‘in Christ’ and as a result to be holy and blameless as Christ is holy and blameless. God our Father has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places! ‘In Christ’ we are adopted as sons and daughters of God in His forever family. He placed us there in His amazing foreknowledge before the earth was formed. His gracious love was given on purpose to us in His Beloved Son through the shedding of His blood on the cross, purchasing our redemption from sin and resulting death. God lavished on us forgiveness of sins and opened our eyes and hearts to His glory and wisdom through the gift of His Holy Spirit.
Our response to God’s amazing love and lavish giving is to worship Him and bless His Name. All we can do is say ‘thank You’ Lord! By faith we say ‘amen’ to each act of grace offered to us ‘in Christ’. We often struggle to understand the amazing love of God our Father and Jesus Christ our Redeemer. As we worship and invite God to reveal His plans and purposes to us, He gives us heavenly vision and revelation of who we are and Who Christ is to us and all mankind. These declarations of God’s blessings ‘in Christ’ led Paul to pray for more wisdom and understanding of our inheritance and Christ’s resurrection power. (Ephesians 1:15-20)
As you look at your life, would you say that you are living ‘in Christ Jesus?’ What emotions are present when you think about God our Father choosing us ‘before the foundation of the world?’ How does this passage speak to orphans and those who may be without family and lonely?
Prayer: Father God, thank You for the many saints that You lavish Your love upon. Thank You for choosing us before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in Christ Jesus. Thank You for adopting us into Your forever family! Give us vision and renewed understanding of the mystery of Your will in Christ for us. Amen.