Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Never Stop Applauding

In Ephesians 1 the Apostle Paul opens up the treasure chest of spiritual blessings that God has ALREADY blessed us with in Christ. Amongst these are:
  • Being chosen in Christ to be holy and blameless, v.4
  • Being predestined for adoption through Christ, v.5
  • Being redeemed from slavery to sin's penalty and power through the blood of Christ, v.7
  • Being sealed as a guarantee of our final inheritance by the indwelling Holy Spirit, vv.13,14

The reason God has done this?

"To the praise of His glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved" v.6

A good and accurate synonym for "praise" is "applause." God has blessed us from eternity past with blessings that are ours in time and will be ours until eternity future. And He has done this that He might receive APPLAUSE for His "glorious grace."

Glorious grace is the grace that takes God-haters and adopts them into the very family of God. Glorious grace is the grace that takes willing slaves to sin and Satan and buys them out of the slave-market of sin at the price of God the Son's own blood. Glorious grace is grace that gives the holy robe of Jesus' righteousness and makes it standard garb for the most filthy and vile of mankind...that is, you and me!

Right now (as He will throughout eternity), God is parading you and me, the objects of His glorious grace, before the heavenly beings that there might be APPLAUSE ringing across the 100,000 light year span of the Milky Way and far beyond. The giant and dwarf stars echo the ceaseless thunderous clapping of angels. The thousand thousand galaxies beyond us reverberate with the sounds of "Glorious grace! Glorious grace! Glorious grace!"

Are you a part of this universal APPLAUSE? Is God's grace to you GLORIOUS? Are you constantly calling for Grace Encores amongst the lost who have yet to learn how to really "put them together"?

"Lord, I applaud Your glorious grace! I am a blood-bought, made-holy, adopted by Deity, can't lose object of that LOVE that gives the opposite of what is deserved. May heart-applause fill my days until that endless day of eternity dawns."

No comments: