“For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of His grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all He has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.”.
Ephesians 2:6-7 NLT
As Paul continues with his Epistle, he sets out some truths that must have appeared as strange to Ephesian ears as they are today. Paul in many ways was a spiritual pioneer. He had received a glimpse of Heaven, which he wrote about in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 – “I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago …. and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.” Such a revelation fuelled his grace-filled writings, seeding them with God-truths. And he glimpsed the fact that we have been raised “from the dead”. And we are now seated with Christ in Heaven, united with Him. A “wow!” moment for sure. However, it gets better. Not only are we seated with Christ in Heavenly places, we are united with Him. Imagine it! With Him we will be party to victory over all the things that drag us back in this life. Sickness, death and so on. One thing for sure – we will not be sitting back passively, enjoying the comfort of Heaven. We get a glimpse of what we will be up to from reading the Book of Revelation.
The next verse, with its revelation that God wants to use us as examples of the “incredible wealth of His grace and kindness toward us”, has to be an understatement of staggering proportions. Incredible for sure. God’s grace is without limit. He pours out His love and kindness without measure. Such God-qualities demonstrate power far beyond human comprehension. We who are Christians are truly overwhelmed that He has chosen us to share in His glory. And the only way we can respond is with a deeply thankful heart. In fact our thanks cannot really scratch the surface of what God really deserves. He has done so much for us.
And so we plod along our pilgrim road, facing into our day to day issues. Dodging the traffic. Eating, drinking, working and sleeping. But inside there is the inner glow of the realisation that we are already there, seated with Jesus in Heaven. And we share how good God has been to us with others, in the hope that they too will be united with Christ.
Being a Pilgrim 