Isaiah 62:3 " You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God." Pondering our position in Christ sometimes takes my breath away. Accepting the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross sets us free and immediately transfers us from a slave to a child of God Almighty. How profound. How simple. How utterly hard to grasp sometimes.
The grace of God that was offered after the sacrifice of His one and only beloved Son enables us to walk in our new inherited right of being His child. I am now a joint heir with Christ Almighty. Whoa. I don’t even understand all that this entails, but the inner part of my being shouts out in gratitude. Thanks to Jesus’ obedience to His Father at the cross, and since I believe Him to be the Messiah and only way to God, I have been set free. Justice was met at the cross and Jesus paid a debt that I would never have been able to pay. When the Father sees me now, he doesn’t see a sinful being, but the glory and purity of Christ that has been implanted within.
It seems like the blessing would have been enough to proclaim my freedom. But, God didn’t stop there. He is lavish in His love. He wanted His love to spill over into our lives and not just take away the shackles from our wrists, but to gently lead us by the arm and welcome us into His throne room where the words glory and family somehow intermingle into the air very comfortably. At the moment of redemption, we have a new home in glory and our citizenship is no longer of this world. We are all the sudden inhabitants of a place where we have rights and privileges. We all the sudden have an allegiance to an eternal King that will reign forever and ever. All the sudden we can be summed up in one word: royal.
Ephesians 1:3-8 describes our new position in Christ quite well. God predestined us to be adopted as His children, which was a free gift. Because of the great sacrifice, we are free from all punishments and penalties. All the sudden, our position shifts from that of doomed slave to that of saint or holy one. We are “hagios” or consecrated and separated from common usage to be used for a sacred purpose. The Christian walk from here on out is to enjoy what He has done for us and live a life worthy of the wealth we have been given.
Unfortunately, the walk isn’t always a simple one. We live where Satan roams around as a lion, seeking something to rip apart at the sinews. He has come to kill, steal, and destroy and he longs for the children of God to be the first pieces of meat that he sinks his teeth into. After all, he lost his glory and intimacy with the Father and it makes him sick to see mere earthlings have such an inherited blessing.
God wants His children acting as, well, His children. He wants us to see Him as the eternal most powerful being, full of love and truth. Deuteronomy 33:29 says, “Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high place.” It took me a second to realize that the verse says my enemies will cower down before me. The enemy recognizes God as my Father and cowers down before me. God is a very present help in trouble, but he also wants us infused with courage and victory. When we refuse to walk in our true identities, we instead walk around full of insecurity. God declares to us “Know your position! You are my child! The enemy cowers down before you! Live like it!” Our Father wants us to come to the realization that because of His name stamped on us, principalities will cringe before us.
Satan enjoyed tormenting my sister with lies that beat her down until she no longer believed the truth about her position in Christ. As a result, she often thought of herself as defective or pathetic. She listened to the lie that said she wasn’t worth loving. In her last moments, perhaps if she had clung to one simple truth, things might have been different: Christ died to prove that she was worth loving.
In Luke chapter 15, we see a beautiful portrait of what our Father’s nature is like. A certain man had two sons. The younger begged for his inheritance and squandered it away. After starving and realizing how foolish he was to stay away from home, he decides to return to his father, tell him he is unworthy to be called his son, and beg to become a hired hand. Little did he know that his father was on the lookout for him. Little did he understand the grace, forgiveness, and unconditional love that his father was ready to cleanse him with.
The son makes his plea that he no longer deserves to be called his son. The message version says “But the father wasn’t listening.” He knew he wouldn’t renounce his son based on foolish choices. He was his son; nothing would change that reality. So, he orders a celebration complete with the best robe and fattened calf.
I don’t want to speak for my sister and I obviously don’t understand the ramifications of what happens the moment one dies. But, I tend to picture Kiley about to approach the majestic throne with a tear snaking down her cheek. She looks up at her Father and starts to see him running towards her. He is filled with compassion for her as he throws his arms around her and kisses her.
Perhaps she takes one look at his eyes and hangs her head in shame at refusing the very breath that he had breathed into her. She blubbers that she isn’t worthy to be called his daughter and he doesn’t even hear her. Instead, he drapes her in the finest robe and begins the celebration. Our Father is merciful. He is compassionate. And He throws a party when his child comes home.
The grace of God that was offered after the sacrifice of His one and only beloved Son enables us to walk in our new inherited right of being His child. I am now a joint heir with Christ Almighty. Whoa. I don’t even understand all that this entails, but the inner part of my being shouts out in gratitude. Thanks to Jesus’ obedience to His Father at the cross, and since I believe Him to be the Messiah and only way to God, I have been set free. Justice was met at the cross and Jesus paid a debt that I would never have been able to pay. When the Father sees me now, he doesn’t see a sinful being, but the glory and purity of Christ that has been implanted within.
It seems like the blessing would have been enough to proclaim my freedom. But, God didn’t stop there. He is lavish in His love. He wanted His love to spill over into our lives and not just take away the shackles from our wrists, but to gently lead us by the arm and welcome us into His throne room where the words glory and family somehow intermingle into the air very comfortably. At the moment of redemption, we have a new home in glory and our citizenship is no longer of this world. We are all the sudden inhabitants of a place where we have rights and privileges. We all the sudden have an allegiance to an eternal King that will reign forever and ever. All the sudden we can be summed up in one word: royal.
Ephesians 1:3-8 describes our new position in Christ quite well. God predestined us to be adopted as His children, which was a free gift. Because of the great sacrifice, we are free from all punishments and penalties. All the sudden, our position shifts from that of doomed slave to that of saint or holy one. We are “hagios” or consecrated and separated from common usage to be used for a sacred purpose. The Christian walk from here on out is to enjoy what He has done for us and live a life worthy of the wealth we have been given.
Unfortunately, the walk isn’t always a simple one. We live where Satan roams around as a lion, seeking something to rip apart at the sinews. He has come to kill, steal, and destroy and he longs for the children of God to be the first pieces of meat that he sinks his teeth into. After all, he lost his glory and intimacy with the Father and it makes him sick to see mere earthlings have such an inherited blessing.
God wants His children acting as, well, His children. He wants us to see Him as the eternal most powerful being, full of love and truth. Deuteronomy 33:29 says, “Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high place.” It took me a second to realize that the verse says my enemies will cower down before me. The enemy recognizes God as my Father and cowers down before me. God is a very present help in trouble, but he also wants us infused with courage and victory. When we refuse to walk in our true identities, we instead walk around full of insecurity. God declares to us “Know your position! You are my child! The enemy cowers down before you! Live like it!” Our Father wants us to come to the realization that because of His name stamped on us, principalities will cringe before us.
Satan enjoyed tormenting my sister with lies that beat her down until she no longer believed the truth about her position in Christ. As a result, she often thought of herself as defective or pathetic. She listened to the lie that said she wasn’t worth loving. In her last moments, perhaps if she had clung to one simple truth, things might have been different: Christ died to prove that she was worth loving.
In Luke chapter 15, we see a beautiful portrait of what our Father’s nature is like. A certain man had two sons. The younger begged for his inheritance and squandered it away. After starving and realizing how foolish he was to stay away from home, he decides to return to his father, tell him he is unworthy to be called his son, and beg to become a hired hand. Little did he know that his father was on the lookout for him. Little did he understand the grace, forgiveness, and unconditional love that his father was ready to cleanse him with.
The son makes his plea that he no longer deserves to be called his son. The message version says “But the father wasn’t listening.” He knew he wouldn’t renounce his son based on foolish choices. He was his son; nothing would change that reality. So, he orders a celebration complete with the best robe and fattened calf.
I don’t want to speak for my sister and I obviously don’t understand the ramifications of what happens the moment one dies. But, I tend to picture Kiley about to approach the majestic throne with a tear snaking down her cheek. She looks up at her Father and starts to see him running towards her. He is filled with compassion for her as he throws his arms around her and kisses her.
Perhaps she takes one look at his eyes and hangs her head in shame at refusing the very breath that he had breathed into her. She blubbers that she isn’t worthy to be called his daughter and he doesn’t even hear her. Instead, he drapes her in the finest robe and begins the celebration. Our Father is merciful. He is compassionate. And He throws a party when his child comes home.
Spurgeon says it like this, “You are as much a son or daughter when you walk in the dark as when you rejoice in the light of Jehovah’s countenance.”
Lord, give us faith to live as we truly are: royal.
2 comments:
wow - God bless you, my sister! I love you and love reading what God lays on your heart! Thank you so much for sharing.
that picture is one of my very, very favorites! love ya!
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