Week 13
Ephesians 2:19 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household.”
Because of our sin, we have become strangers to God; we have become outsiders to His life and love. We feel strange because WE ARE STRANGERS to God. This alienation cuts us off from our source, our Creator. This alienation severs our lifeline to His life and truth, and we sense that something is terribly wrong.
But in Christ, through Christ’s cross and sacrifice, we are brought to God. Our status with God changes from being outsiders to being “fellow citizens with the saints.” In Christ and through Christ’s sacrifice for our sins, God brings us INSIDE and CLOSE to Him, and we are given the most intimate connection to the fatherly heart. The text declares to us that in Christ we are “of God’s household”, meaning that we now belong to God’s family. Let that sink in for a moment; Christians belong to God’s family – we belong to God’s family! God is now our Father, and we are His children. His “home” in heaven is our HOME. Thus, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:8, “(We) prefer to be absent from the body (earth) and to be at home (heaven) with the Lord.” Wherever God is, this is home to us! The presence of Jesus is our delight because He is our life and our Lord. We belong to Him; thus, we belong to heaven!
One of the great struggles of our day is the struggle of alienation and disenfranchisement. We feel lost, away, distanced, and separated from something or someone. This is the inner state of our perception and our lives. But through Christ, we are brought near to our God and to our home; we feel the love of God, because we belong to God, and we are accepted by God. In Christ, our lostness is turned to foundness. It is like we have been away for a long time, but we have come home to a happy and loving reception by our family. This is the mental picture Jesus drew in the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. The prodigal son came home, and he was welcomed by his father, who celebrated his return. This is God welcoming us home and re-instating our position and relationship with Him in Christ.
No matter what others say or feel about us, in Christ we are inside with God. We can rest in the knowledge that we belong to Jesus, and Jesus belongs to us. Our close relationship is beyond description, and our love for each other is incomprehensible; His grace and sacrificial atoning work forever bind us. Today try to feel His love and revel in the warm comfort that comes from knowing that in Jesus we are no longer strangers to God; we are His children, and we are home to God and with God!
Prayer: Dear Father, thank you for bringing me inside Your grace, love, and life through Christ. I did not know what I needed, but You did. You brought me home when You saved me. So, help me to live my life knowing that I am home in heart and mind. And one day You will call me home to heaven where all the privileges of status will be enjoyed forever; what a day that will be! I love You and thank You! Amen.