Blessings

Because of the nature of the ministry, the rescue mission definitely is its own sub-culture...we regularly see and hear things there that are not common in the daily experience of most people. But one of the things I always find interesting is that when asked about their state of being (how are you?), the clients will typically say, "I am blessed." Recently, this response has taken on a new form...now it's "I am blessed and highly favored." This has been a form of subtle conviction in my life, because I know my first response when asked about my state of being is not to proclaim my blessedness. I might say I am doing well or fine, but that is a mindless response. Through the course of this week (and it has been a flurry of activity), I have been given reminders of my blessings in a number of ways...from last Sunday's sermon, from doing the morning devotion for the mission clients, from a luncheon speaker, from our women's ministry speaker, from conversations, and from books I have been reading...the blessings are numerous.

It's natural to focus on the tangible and temporal blessings, but this week has also brought my attention to the spiritual blessings I have because I am in Christ. As we read through Ephesians 1:1-14 last Sunday, we looked at the blessings bestowed on Christians to the praise of the glory of God: unmerited favor, our election to salvation, our adoption as sons of God, our redemption and forgiveness of sins, the promised re-unification of all things in Christ under His headship, our eternal inheritance, the Holy Spirit as the seal of our inheritance, and the good news by which we have been saved. All these blessings were purchased for me by Jesus when He went to the cross, the payment being his own innocent blood. To meditate on the truths from those verses in Ephesians helps me maintain the right perspective. Regardless of my physical circumstances, my state of being is always better than "I am fine." Because of Christ, I am truly and eternally blessed and highly favored.