Saturday, October 4, 2008

God's guarantee

In the shadow of the Lehman Brothers collapse, that has become a domino effect to our financial crisis at the moment, I was reminded of this verse:

Ephesians 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
The Holy Bible : New International Version. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Eph 1:13-14

As christians = believers and followers of Jesus Christ, we are marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit.

Awesome as this seal is, it is only a deposit, an earnest or a downpayment, for the glory that is to come.

If someone buys a property, he will give a deposit, a promise to send the full payment at a later date. But he might default.

Indeed even a big bank that has been there for more than a hundred years can go bankrupt with our retirement money going down with them!

But I was thinking: will GOD, the Almighty, Creator and Sustainer of all things, default?

Of course not!

1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
The Holy Bible : New International Version. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. 1 Pe 1:3-6

Oh, praise the Lord for even when our life on earth is wasting away, our inheritance in heaven is shielded by His power until the full redemption is meted out.

Yes, even though we are saved now and have this joy and peace, yet our full salvation is not yet. All this is but a foretaste of the glory to come. It is not yet even fully realized.

Oh, may we have this longing to know God more, so that we may long for this full redemption. Not just looking for treasures on earth like stocks and bonds and money and property and health. But eternal stuff that will count for eternity. Talking about compounded interest on that one!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Very true, indeed, sister! Thanks for sharing this wonderful truth.