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December 4 And raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6,7. The Christian life begins with a great DONE—by Christ. Often we think that we must find something to do for our Lord, yet the mark of maturity in Christ is to realize that first we are just to sit and adore and listen to Him. We are not normally inclined that way, yet it is the desire of God to show His grace to us over and over—even those like us who think we can outdo God. If only we would spend more time sitting with Jesus, meditating upon His wonders and glory, then we would be better equipped to set about doing something with Him and for Him. The doing, by us, will come after the sitting! We have a patter for this in the creation story. Man was created on the sixth day—just in time to enter into a day of rest—with God. This is the pattern that we are to follow. My dear friends, so many of us have this backwards. I am afraid we have been poorly educated by the world system. God’s methods are not our methods. I marvel over the number of times in the Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians that the phrase in Christ or in Him is used. In the first chapter alone it appears at least eight times. We cannot make too much of this, for that is the great secret that we share with the Father—He wants only to see us in His Son. We would be so much better in showing the attributes of Christ to the world if we would just hold that thought before us. I must admit that I have often failed to do that very thing. Father, we thank You today for the abundance of Your grace. We will be the recipients of that grace for all the ages to come—for that matter it will be for eternity. As we sit and gaze at You, let us be filled with Your Spirit as He continually reveals Your desires for us. We will be equipped to share Your Son with the world around us--all because we are in Him and He is in us. Amen. |
