Ephesians 1:4-5

Dan & Claire Maudhub

'For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will' Ephesians 1:4-5

We both live very busy lives involved in business, teaching, youth work, leadership and looking after a cat! Life can sometimes seem very complicated and stressful. It is always good at these times to get back to some simple truths about Father God; what sort of a God He is and what He intended for His creatures' lives on earth. The book of Ephesians is marvelous at laying out some of the simple and profound truths of the Father. So let's take a look at Ephesians chapter one, verses four and five.

For he chose us in him before the creation of the world.
Let's dwell on that a minute. The Creator of the whole universe, of all things, chose you and me. He called us by our names even before He created anything we see around us; before mountains, before dinosaurs, before the sun. How we need to understand this! God knew us before we were formed, before our parents ever did and He gave us a purpose and destiny completely unique to us.

...to be holy and blameless in his sight
He has chosen us to be "holy and blameless" in His sight - seems like a tall order at times. When God says holy, He is not talking about some self-righteous state of perfection; the word holy here means 'set apart to be one of His saints'. To be blameless does not imply that you must have absolutely no faults, but that when you live in relationship with someone who loves you and knows you, they don't blame you or reject you for your faults. Think about it- anyone can be your friend when things are going well, but it's when you make mistakes and things go wrong, you know who your friends are by who turns on you and who sticks around. God does not blame us - He sent His Son to take the blame for us!

In love He predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ
Before the foundation of this world, God pre-designed you and me to be adopted as His children and thanks to Jesus, made it happen. God created Adam for relationship and we are created in God's image. God does not have an intimate relationship with mountains, planets or our cat! They are not created in His image - we are. When Christ redeemed every area of our lives through the Cross, God was fulfilling His original intent for relationship with us - to adopt us back again as His precious kids.

...in accordance with his pleasure and will.
Here's the clincher, God can do anything He likes - He is God after all. One of the most important things we need to understand about God is that if He didn't want to make, save or love people - He wouldn't...but He does! That is God's pleasure - that is what He enjoys doing.

So the next time you look in the mirror, the next time life gets complicated, remember some simple truths: God, at any point in time, wants to spend time with you - regardless of your strange looks, your insecurities, your funny ways. He wants to share your life with you and show you who He is and what He is all about. He really, really wanted you and He finds the greatest of pleasure just being with you.

Have a great week.