Paul opens his book to the Ephesians with a remarkable set
of words...and get this, it’s all one sentence in the Greek.
Ephesians 1:3-8
3 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,
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
3 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,
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
5 he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,
6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
Blessed...that’s the word he uses to describe what Christ
has done for us.
Blessed...it has
nothing to do with good health, material things, money, great job, even great
kids (but I know I feel blessed for that).
I’ve used the word countless of times to close an email – “Blessings
to you”, “Be Blessed”, “God bless”.
Being “Blessed” has nothing to do with our
experiences, although for lots of people that is how they judge whether or not
they are blessed. If a person’s day is full of good things, it’s easy to fall
into the trap of thinking God accepts them.
But when things are not so good -
sick, not-enough-money at the end of the month, struggling in relationships,
dead-end job – it’s easy to become angry and feel God is also angry and not
accepting.
Paul says, "you're blessed in Christ".
Beloved, if only we could see that all our highs do not define us,
and all our lows don’t identify us in the Father's eyes; but instead we stand
accepted in One who never changes. We
are, according to Ephesians 1, “the beloved of God”,
We are not perfect, we children of God, chosen,
blameless, adopted, redeemed, forgiven...i.e., Blessed!
Rejoice then, believer, in this: "You are blessed in the Beloved." You might be tempted to say, "There is
nothing acceptable here!" Look at Christ, and see that everything is acceptable there.
Do your sins trouble you? - good; but remember,
God has cast your sins behind His back, and you are accepted and blessed in his
forgiveness and righteousness.
Do you
have to wrestle with temptation? Great; but remember you are accepted in Him who has
overcome the powers of evil. While Satan may tempt you, he cannot destroy you,
for you are accepted in Him who has broken Satan's authority on earth.
Live for Christ as one who has “died with him” (Gal. 2:20),
and experience the full assurance your glorious standing in your worship and
prayers. In Christ, our days don’t
define us, Christ does!
Be Blessed my
friend, be blessed.
Peace
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