13 Feb WHAT’S REALLY AT STAKE
Years ago as I was reading Ephesians, time stood still for a moment, and I was suddenly standing in a time tunnel that ended in a prison cell where Paul was writing the words I was reading. When he got to verse 16, he paused and looked up. “I do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers… “ And then I was suddenly standing in front of him, with his eyes looking deeply and steadily into mine, thinking his thoughts into me, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe ... (Ephesians 1:6-19) It was like Paul was praying for me, speaking to me personally.
The God of our Lord Jesus Christ drives His claim into us each time He causes His word to come alive in us. We never forget those moments, because they mark a fusion that takes place: He in us and we in Him. This said, I have only recently begun to understand what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.
Simply put, we are the glorious proof of His ability to TOTALLY upend and overturn evil , forcing it to serve His ends. .The glory of His inheritance in us is the infallible witness of His love’s power to forgive us and release us from the justice that His holiness demands., by meeting its demand, Himself. And then, as if that was not enough, He releases us into eternity as a reflection of Himself, displaying His power at work in us–before those principalities who since ages past have arraigned themselves against Him.. (Ephesians 3:9-12) They have good reason to hate us.
There are many of us who go only this far with Him, not understanding what else is at stake in all that He has done for us. I was in the book of Job, just reading along, when Jesus was suddenly beside me., ready to show me what was at stake.
Job 8-12
8 Then the LORD asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”
9 Satan replied to the LORD, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God.
10 You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is!
11 But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!”
As I came to the end of this passage, time stood still again, as Jesus quietly vowed with a sternness I have never heard from him before or since, “This taunt WILL NEVER come against me or my bride in eternity.”
This is what’s at stake in all that God has done for us. The only thing that will silence Satan’s taunt is the fidelity of our love for Him, when He allows us to suffer unjustly, when we choose to love and worship Him even when He appears to not be intervening to save us. Martyrs throughout history have endured persecution as more than conquerors, because the faithfulness of their love burned as a torch for Him, no matter what came. They saw their suffering as an honor.
We hear a great deal of emphasis on our demonstrating kingdom power, on our being aligned with God’s word, on our believing that we have the power to decree God’s will into existence. These things are true, but have we lost sight of what’s really at stake? The fidelity of our love is something God cannot give Himself. It is not something He can decree or command, without bringing Satan’s taunt.. The riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints is what we choose to give Him, what we are willing to suffer for a short time, so that we might win a weight of glory for Him–forever silencing Satan’s taunt,
The purest expression of our love for Him will burn like a torch through our darkest night.