Riches
Why is redemption available to us?
Why can we be forgiven for all the awful things we have done and will do?
It’s because God is rich in grace. He has a lot of grace to spend, and he lavishly spends it on us. (Ephesians 1:7-8)
But we are poor in grace, and our limited supply is quickly diminished. One of the ironies of humanity is that we require lavish amounts of grace, but we have very little to spend.
Thankfully, God doesn’t only spend grace on us; he also places His rich supply of grace within us.
I was sharing a few verses in Ephesians 1 with my kids the other morning and paused on the word ‘inheritance’ found in verse 14.
I was explaining that an inheritance usually goes to the children. It’s an acknowledgment of a truth we all know instinctually: whatever belongs to parents belongs to the children.
It was helpful that this past Summer at Centrikid camp, the main verse was John 3:1.
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. ”
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Paul speaks of God’s grace in terms of riches and then, a few verses down, speaks about our inheritance. We aren’t just receivers of God’s grace; we are inheritors of his grace. His rich supply now belongs to us.
Like Peter in Matthew 18, we often wonder, “How much is too much to forgive?” Jesus’s answer seems unreasonable and astronomical. How could he ask us to spend so much grace? Doesn’t he know we don’t have it?
Yes, he knows we don’t have the resources, but He does. And as we trust and follow Him, he will supply all our needs according to His riches. (Philippians 4:19)
