Ephesians 1 cont’d:
In love He predestined
us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according
to the kind intention of His will, to the
praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the
Beloved.
Look at the phrase “the kind intention of His
will.”
Many times when we are the recipient of something
great in this life, there’s an agenda behind it, or it’s because we have
performed to some degree of excellence, or it’s pure luck. But God’s love isn’t like that. He has kind intentions toward us, because he
created us to be in his image, reflecting his glory, walking in true fellowship
with him. That’s not pure luck. That’s
pure love.
Look at the phrase “to the praise of the glory of
his grace, which he freely bestowed…”
Back in the old days, a father would bestow gifts
to his daughter when she married – a dowry – a transfer of inheritance. After that, she and her husband would start
their life together, working hard, to make ends meet.
God’s grace isn’t a one-time dowry that he gives
us when we accept his son as our bridegroom. It’s an everyday, every minute,
occurrence. His grace is always there
for us…because he is kindly intentioned toward us.
All I can visualize after reading these verses is
a kind heavenly father, with loving eyes and open hands, looking down on us
without accusation, without hidden agendas, lavishing his love on us over and
over again.
That’s redemption.
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