Inheritance part 1
Listen. There's way too much to say about our inheritance. It would fill a lot more than a five-part Rant series. So all I really want to talk about for the next few days is the idea that, "What's mine is yours." This is something I've told my son ever since the day he was born. And he took it to heart. One of my favorite stories is one day when he was younger I was making lunch. For me. So I made a sandwich. For me. And put it in my spot at the table. Went to the fridge to get something to drink. Turned back around. And that little rascal was sitting in my chair. Eating my sandwich. But here's the thing, I didn't get mad. I didn't get upset. I smiled. Because if my son is hungry... I want to feed him. If he's cold... I want to clothe him. It's my job to take care of him. Yes. He's my responsibility. Because I'm his dad. But it's also my genuine pleasure. I love taking care of him. Teaching him to live life. Of course. Because I want him to be able to do the things he needs to do. I want him to be a productive, well-rounded human being. But there's just something special about being able to do something special for someone. Or, in the case of the sandwich, having such a bond and relationship with someone that they don't feel the need to beg (or even ask) for things from me. To this day he will still "sneak" a sip of my soda pop. Things like that. Because he knows, in his heart of hearts, that what's mine is his. And I know I called this Rant series "inheritance," but with God it's so much more than that. It's so much more than just what we get when our Father dies. We get it all when He's alive! We get to experience everything He has and everything He is! And I know it's a little tricky with the whole, well, He died 2,000 years ago thing. And that it was the Son dying. Like I said at the jump, there's way too much to really get into. Look at Ephesians 1:11, "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will." We have already obtained the inheritance. He has already given us everything He has and everything He is. According to the counsel of His OWN will. He gave us what He wanted us to have... simply because He wanted us to have it. He gave us His life--His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love--so that we could experience and enjoy it. He gave us His life... simply because He loves us. What's His is ours. Everything God has and everything God is, is available to us. Doesn't need to be earned. Can't, in fact, be earned. All we have to do is receive it and release it. Receive it BY releasing it. Release it by receiving it. Fill ourselves to overflowing with what we've already been filled with. Let what's inside come out by knowing and believing that it's in there. That HE'S in there. That LOVE is in there. Because, when you get right down to it, love is our inheritance. Passed down from Father to Son. Not just what we have, or what we do, but who we are. God is love, and whatever's His... is ours!