All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
What a wonderful passage this is. Because we are united with Christ he bestows on us His blessings.
This first blessing is election. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.
The second blessing is sonship. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.
The third blessing is grace. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured on us who belong to his dear son.
The forth blessing is redemption and forgiveness. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.
The fifth blessing is abundance. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
God elected to make us, He chose us, He wanted us, He loved us.
God adopted us into His own family. Adopting a child is a very special thing because you choose to have a child. You go through a process that is long and hard, you think about it carefully and decide that this is the right choice. God chose you and me to be adopted into His own family. He wanted this with all of His heart. His love desired us.
Now that God has adopted us he pours grace upon us because we belong to his dear son.
Being a member of Christ's family and through God's grace we are redeemed and forgiven. So that is because of God's rich kindness and grace, not because of anything we have done.
And anything God makes he blesses and pours abundant blessings upon it. He has showered his kindness, not just dripped or drizzled it but showered it upon us. This includes His wisdom and understanding. The wisdom and understanding of the Holy Spirit. We have it all, the election, the sonship, the grace, the redemption and forgiveness and also the abundance of the Holy Spirit. The Trinity.
We have been given the honour of embracing a life of sonship with the Trinity.
When life gets hard and we feel unable to cope we have the solution. God is bigger than all of our worries, troubles, sadness, and sorrows. He has given us sonship so that we can embrace His shower of kindness, wisdom and understanding. That understanding is:
God is bigger than everything, we are His sons and daughters and He will never forsake us. This is what he promises. All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. God will never renege on his promise because He elected to make us His sons and daughters.
The answer to our daily concerns:
You are bigger than this Jesus Christ.
Believing in God is the only way, accepting our faults, turning away from the wrong gods, and asking forgiveness, directs us into the glow of the Trinity and moves us forward to live the feast of the transfiguration through God's Grace.
Let us truly understand the Greatness of our God and live it in our lives today. Pray believing that miracles will happen every day of our lives. He showers us with His Grace. He wants us to be His hands. To heal, to love, to be compassionate, to forgive, to give, to be the answer.
When we ask why is God not doing something about a situation in our life, or a global disaster, even genocide, He is, we are His messengers, His tools, His answer. We are the answer just as we are the problem. God through us can change things with His Grace. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. If we sit and do nothing, we are not receiving His shower of kindness, wisdom and understanding. We are not sharing this blessing. We have his kindness, wisdom and understanding through His Holy Spirit.
Next time we say, 'Where is God in all of this?' remember we are His hands. His holy hands. Pray that we use them wisely, justly, with compassion, and above all lift them in pray and praise to the God who made us. May they not be to the destruction of God's creation as we have all been chosen in Christ to be holy and without fault. May we not be found wanting by our brothers and sisters who are in need.
May we be able to answer the question 'Am I a real Christian?' Do I really believe God's message of election, sonship, grace, redemption and forgiveness. Do I abundantly give? Am I God's hands? Do I allow God to use me to be the answer?
Please don't get me wrong this is not a call to go and get rid of all that is evil by destroying; it is a call to be part of God's army, to reveal God to the world through our Christian calling. To show that God is bigger than everything that the world throws at us. If we are called to do great things in God's name He will reveal this to us individually and with confirmation through the Holy Spirit.
There will always be evil in this world as we live in a fallen world. And as God's hands we need to be there for those who have fallen. Our lights need to be brighter than the false gods that try to blind our nations with false promises and lies. Our God is a God of freedom who empowers us and breaks our chains. He and He alone is the solution to the madness of this world. Only His promises are True. We must never forget that His Grace has saved us. And our calling is to be a real Christian. One empowered by God's love.
