Through the redemptive blood of Jesus we have been lavished with the riches of His grace. I think often times, we can find ourselves not taking advantage of all the richness that has been lavished upon us from the mighty work done on the cross. We take advantage of the grace that saved us, but that’s where we stop. We only live in our salvation and we settle there. We open the box that contains the free gift of grace, yet we refuse to untie the ribbon that will lavish everything housed within that grace!
What do you mean, Ashlee?
Now, don’t get me wrong. Salvation is important, but God has so much more for his children than just salvation, sitting on a pew and waiting on eternity. In Ephesians 1, Paul says that we have been lavished with all wisdom and insight through Christ. God has made known to us His will. He goes on to say that the Holy Spirit is our down payment (guarantee) of our inheritance!
I looked up the word lavish and it said “to bestow something in generous or extravagant quantities.” When I read this, I couldn’t help but feel that if I am lavished with something, it isn’t gonna run out and I will always have more than enough! That’s how God is! He didn’t just stop with salvation and say, “There ya go, sister!” Nope!
He poured out salvation through Jesus
He has offered wisdom through His Word.
He has offered mercy that is new every morning.
He has given us everything that was possessed by Jesus through faith! Yes, that includes miracles, healing, casting out demons and moving mountains! Why ain’t it happening? Maybe because you have only opened the box of salvation and left all the riches of God’s grace still bound up because of lack of faith.
Now, I love what Paul says later on in Ephesians 1:14. He says that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, Who is the down-payment of our inheritance. That gets me fired up. I’ve read that before (and even included my drawing from a few years ago), but it leaped off the page at me this morning! I think we forget how powerful the Holy Spirit is in our lives. When you unwrap grace through faith, you give the Holy Spirit the ability to inspire, teach, convict, regenerate, empower, comfort and give spiritual gifts to you! The Holy Spirit does so much more than just those few, but we don’t see those things manifested in our life because we choose not to trust the down-payment of our inheritance! God is not going to do anything more in your life than what YOU allow Him to do. You are authenticated, certified and marked with a seal from the Almighty! When you live in that guarantee, nothing is impossible and you are just waiting on the completion of the transaction when you are in the presence of the throne of God!
I feel like sometimes when I go back and read what I have written that I sound like a crazy person…but that’s okay. I want to stretch your faith and help you unleash the untapped potential that lives within you through faith! When you read the Word of God, you will see that everything that was available to the men and women we read about, is also available to you. Unwrap the riches of God’s grace that has been lavished upon you. But, be ready…because God is gonna do something amazing and you don’t want to miss it!
