Chosen and Blessed

By Dean Collins

If you are looking for relief from the division and chaos, the hatred and deception, and the anxiety of what happens after the election cycle is over, then I suggest you read Ephesians 1. Paul reminds us of God’s grand plan for humanity, which will succeed no matter who is elected President of the United States.

Most of my readers are in the USA, and they would likely agree that it is great to live in this wonderful land where freedom is foundational. But I hope that these same readers would also acknowledge that while there are so many statistics that could be listed about how special and unique it is to live here, our country also has challenges and problems that are significant and have not been solved in the nearly 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. We are a divided country in so many ways.

The apostle Paul has news for the USA and for every nation: God’s love, grace, and mercy extend to all people everywhere! The first several verses of Ephesians contain a giant declaration of praise to God for how he has blessed us and planned to redeem and restore all that has broken since the foundation of the world.

Deep down, everyone seeks a blessing from their parents. Family blessings are significant and much bigger and more important than financial blessings. To be loved, included, affirmed, educated, chosen makes all the difference in our psychological foundation and grants us a way forward. And sadly, many, maybe even most, never receive that kind of blessing and affirmation.

But God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 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… the inspired words of Paul in Ephesians. Not some blessing, but every blessing. Not on earth, but in the heavenly places, that include a redeemed and restored earth, by the way. And chosen since the beginning of time. Wow! Breathe that in and ponder the implications.

You were not forgotten or abandoned, but chosen by God. Parents may have failed, but God did not. He adopted you as his son or daughter, that you might know his love and experience his grace and find that you have a purpose far greater than anything you can imagine. You are a part of a royal family and bear the name of a king!

And don’t miss that in verse 10, we see that God’s plans are to unite all things in Christ. All things in heaven and on earth. The thin space between heaven and earth will one day be erased. And while that space exists today, our calling in Christ makes us ambassadors of Jesus while we pray that his will is done on heaven and earth and while we work through God’s spirit to make it so.

The gospels explain how Jesus came from heaven and died for all of humanity, that we might have forgiveness of our sins and become transferred from darkness into his marvelous light. In Acts 2, we see how on the day of Pentecost, God revealed how this good news of Jesus would expand to people everywhere and not just to the Jewish people living in Jerusalem. And since that day, the Gospel continues to be shared everywhere.

Paul ends this opening declaration of praise with strong assurance concerning our salvation:

“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

If you want to make a difference in this country and beyond, then the opportunities are far greater than whomever you vote for on Election Day. When you align with Jesus and claim your blessing, God will use you to change the world!

Father thank you for this beautiful passage in Ephesians that helps us know our identity and that you have a plan that continues to unfold and is bigger and greater than we can imagine. Give us eyes of faith to see you at work in us, in your church, and in the world. In Jesus's name, amen.

Your Time with God’s Word
Ephesians 1:3-14; Acts 1:8, 2:1-12; Matthew 28:18-20 ESV

Photo by Gift Habeshaw on Unsplash
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