Ewald Schmidt

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people…”  Ephesians 1:18 (NIV)

There was that glorious day when Jesus met his disciples, and called them by name to follow him. A new life began, living with Jesus, being taught in the ways of the Kingdom of God. This is also true in the life of every believer since then. When we are called to follow Jesus, there is an old way of life we need to leave behind. We begin to think in new ways, and some of our old behaviour and thoughts just don’t belong any more. To follow Jesus as his disciple has always involved a willingness to pay the price. In Matthew 7:14, Jesus told us to choose the narrow path in life. In Matthew 10:28 he told us that following him will be a commitment - we will have to be prepared to take up our own collective crosses, and pay the price of dying to our old self. Paul’s first readers experienced their new life in Christ as a hard reality, involving rejection by family and friends, and persecution by the authorities over them. When we are suffering for our faith, it is so normal to start questioning our motives for following Christ. Is it worth the cost?

When God opens the eyes of our heart, we see through the eyes of faith. We discover that which Jesus has given us as a glorious inheritance, paid for by his death on the cross. In this chapter we have seen so many examples of what the glorious inheritance entails. God has planned our lives, to be holy and blameless before Him. He sent us his Son, to die in our place on a cross. He has forgiven our sin, and given us a new life, a new identity as his children, part of his Kingdom. We have a new future, because Jesus has risen from the dead, and has led us to a heavenly future through his Spirit. This is our inheritance - we are new people, led by Christ on a new way to a wonderful destination.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you died for me, leaving me a glorious inheritance. Thank you that you have conquered death, you are alive, and leading me on a new path to a glorious future. Help me to remember who you are, and who I am in you, when I sometimes tend to doubt and worry. Amen.