“God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son.”
Ephesians 1:5-6 NLT
The previous verse in Ephesians 1 burst into our consciousness with the thought that we have been chosen by God, not on a whim, but before God even created the heavens and the earth. This theme develops in our verses today. Not only did God choose us an eternity ago, but He has placed us in a special family. His own family. And Jesus is our elder brother. He did it through Jesus’ death at Calvary, the place where Jesus took on our sins and gave us instead His cloak of righteousness, enabling us to not only be able to stand before God in a sinless form, but to be adopted into His family.
My sister was adopted. I know other people too who were adopted. People who came from a family where parents were unable to look after their children and instead allowed them to be chosen by new parents, with the will and means to look after them. Most adoptions work well, devoted new parents pouring in all the resources required, but others perhaps haven’t been ideal. Thankfully, in God’s family, there are no failed adoptions. Every child of God is assured an equal place in His family, and the certainty of a lifelong relationship with a gracious and loving Parent. A relationship that extends beyond the grave. As a Parent, God gets great pleasure from His adopted family. And there is no limit to the size of His family either. His heart of love is infinitely able to embrace all who respond to His call.
So with Paul, another adopted brother in God’s family, we praise God for His “glorious grace”, grace that sees beyond the imperfect sinful beings that we are, and instead beckons us through the door of adoption into His presence. What an amazing “spiritual blessing”. What an amazing Father God!
Being a Pilgrim 