O God, by Whom we are redeemed and receive adoption, look graciously upon Your beloved sons and daughters, that those who believe in Christ may receive true freedom and an everlasting inheritance. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
redeemed – This word is so familiar, we hear it so often, that it has lost its power. To redeem someone is to buy that person out of slavery. Jesus Christ bought us out of the slavery of sin and death, and He paid for us with His own blood.
receive adoption – From the beginning, God has made a series of covenants with His people. A covenant is a family bond created by swearing an oath. When God makes a covenant with us, He adopts us into His divine family, and in the New Covenant enacted by Jesus Christ, He gives us a share in His own divine life as He pours His sanctifying grace into our souls.
look graciously – The Greek word for “grace” is charis, and it literally means something like “leaning toward favorably” or “extending toward with a benefit.” So when God looks upon us graciously, He is leaning toward us, extending Himself to give us His favor, to provide us with His benefits.
Your beloved sons and daughters – Take a few minutes and reflect on the amazing fact that God loves you.
those who believe in Christ – What does it mean to believe in Christ? Is it merely accepting some facts about Him as being true? Is it holding to the proposition that He is the divine Son of God Who brings us salvation? Or is it something more? To truly believe in Christ, we must indeed hold fast to the truths revealed about Him, but we must also live those truths each and every day in obedience and love. As St. James says, “So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead” (2:17). Faith that is not lived will not save.
true freedom – Freedom does not mean doing whatever we want. Far from it! True freedom is freedom to love and serve God. It means being free from sin that we may do what it right. It means being free from error that we may embrace the truth. It means being free from ugliness and boredom that we may appreciate beauty. True freedom is the freedom to begin living eternal life now and find its fulfillment in Heaven.
everlasting inheritance – We are members of God's covenant family and heirs with Christ. So what do we inherit? God! Our inheritance is God. In Heaven we will see Him face to face and, as St. Paul says, we will know as we are known (1 Cor 13:12). We will enjoy Him forever in the fullness of eternal life.
No comments:
Post a Comment