Identity

For once you were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! (Ephesians 5:8)

Have you ever tried to stop light from spreading?

Perhaps you’ve put your hand over a flashlight in a dark room, but the light still spilled out around your fingers, causing them to glow pink in the thinner spots.

You could always try putting a bucket over the flashlight, but would the light really be gone? Not at all. The inside of that bucket would still be lit up even if you couldn’t see it from the outside.

The light of Christ has this same effect within you. You used to be full of darkness, but now that you are in Christ, His light is illuminating your heart and giving life to your soul. Whether you can see it or not, it’s there. And nothing will ever be able to shut it off.

However, just like the flashlight, it’s up to you whether you share it with others. You can keep it hidden, or you can allow it to shine on those around you. Jesus made it pretty clear what He is hoping you will choose:

No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father (Matthew 5:15-16).

So don’t hide God’s light. Let it shine! Love others with the love of Christ. Offer the same grace and forgiveness that He offered you.

Be a beacon of hope for those who are still wandering in the darkness.

After all, isn’t that what it means to live as people of light?

 Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence (Ephesians 3:12).

I don’t know what it is about the waiting rooms in doctors’ offices, but it seems they all come with a stack of outdated People magazines. Apparently, the best way to calm people’s minds before their impending colonoscopy is to offer them reading material about the secret lives of celebrities.

As I thumbed through a few issues (you know…for science!), I got to see photos of George Clooney’s fancy new estate in the Italian Riviera. Then there was an entire story updating everyone on the status of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s marriage. And, of course, there were multiple pictures of celebrities doing such exciting things as grocery shopping and even walking along the beach with their kids.

None of these photos looked to be welcomed or endorsed by the celebrities. Rather, they were all taken from far away with a telephoto lens. In fact, some of these celebrities have made it quite clear that they don’t want such intrusions in their private lives. According to the story on George Clooney, he made an agreement with the local police to fine anyone who ventures too close to his house with a camera. I think it’s safe to say that most people are not welcome into the presence of famous people.

Now, I understand not wanting the paparazzi to follow you around spying on you everywhere you go. I’m not saying these celebrities are wrong at all for desiring to maintain some sort of private life in spite of the media intruding on them constantly. If someone started taking pictures of my family for TMZ, you can bet that I would surely respond the same way.

Imagine though, if George Clooney and Kim Kardashian have such a problem with people trying to gain access to them that they need to separate themselves through legal boundaries, how much more attention does God receive from everyone trying to get to Him? You would think if anyone was going to wall themselves off from the hordes of fans and followers trying to get too close, it would be God.

In one sense, that is how it used to be. Prior to the cross, there was a thick curtain separating the room where God dwelled (the Holy of Holies) from the rest of the temple—and from the world. If anyone other than the high priest dared to go behind this curtain into God’s presence, they would have died instantly. This was such a serious deal that even the high priest had to go through a ceremonial cleansing process to make sure his sins had all been removed before entering. In addition, the other priests would tie a bell and a rope around his ankle. If the bell went silent, it meant the high priest had died and his corpse would need to be dragged out from behind the curtain. This may all seem harsh, but it’s the reality of what happens to an unrighteous person who enters into the presence of God’s holiness.

God, however, wanted to make a way for us to become welcome in His presence, and He had a plan to solve the problem. He sent Jesus to pay for our sins with His death, which immediately tore the temple curtain in two, proving to us that the separation is now gone. We’ve been invited into God’s presence.

The moment you became unified with Christ, you were made holy and righteous because of your faith in Him. It’s as if you were transformed into the same position as the high priest, only now you’ve been purified permanently. You can be so sure of this, that you don’t even need to tie a bell on your ankle. Thanks to Jesus, you can now come into God’s presence with boldness and confidence, any time you wish.

But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13).

If I were to ask you to name the TV show you watched more than any other as a child, there’s a good chance you would say Sesame Street. It’s been on the air since the 1960s, and broadcasted in more than 120 countries, so odds are you’re familiar with it even if you grew up outside of the United States.

I don’t remember a whole lot from the show, but one segment has remained cemented in my mind for over 30 years now: the one where the furry blue Grover monster was determined to teach us the difference between near and far.

The sketch begins with Grover standing right in front of the camera. “Near!” he proclaims boldly. He then proceeds to run quite a few paces backwards, muppet arms flailing about humorously as he yells “FAR!” loud enough for us to still hear him. This shtick goes back and forth a dozen or so times as Grover becomes more and more exhausted trying to communicate his point. As a finale, he collapses in dramatic fashion, which of course is pure comedy gold to a four-year-old.

Yes, this may just be a silly sketch meant to teach children about “near” and “far,” but it’s also a good illustration of how we as believers can burn ourselves out trying to get closer to God through our own self-effort.

Remember, every one of us was born separated from God because of our sin. In other words, we were “far” away from Him. Many of us, myself included, tried to close this distance by being a good person, trying really hard to please God, and relying on our own abilities to run closer to Him. But our unification with God was never meant to work that way, so no matter how hard any of us tried, we could never get closer to God through human striving. The only thing our efforts could produce was exhaustion.

But now that you are in Christ, that devastating reality no longer applies to you! You may have come into this world far from God, but He wanted you close to Him. That’s why He sent Jesus to cover the penalty for your sin with His blood. It was Christ who brought you near to God.

You could have spent your entire life running, trying to save yourself, but it never would have brought you any closer to God. But now, you finally get to stop running, because you’re already where you’re supposed to be.

This post is an excerpt from my new book, 52 Amazing Things That Became True of You the Moment You Trusted Christ. If you enjoyed what you read here, be sure to check out the book for 51 more awesome truths about how God sees you!

We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago (Ephesians 2:10).

A few days ago, after sharing this verse with my daughter, she asked me what a masterpiece was. Even though I’m an artist by trade, I still struggled to explain it in a way that a 6-year-old would understand. What I eventually told her is that a masterpiece is an artist’s favorite work. I asked her to think of all the drawings she had taped to the wall of her bedroom and to choose which one she was most proud of. Whichever one she picked was her masterpiece.

So how amazing is it that God, who created the entire universe—Redwood forests, the Himalayas, snow leopards—still considers you and me to be His favorite works of art? I like to think that God’s got pictures of us on His fridge, and whenever He invites the heavenly saints over for dinner, He points to my picture and says:

“Check out this kid! He was so messed up, but then My Son got ahold of him and now look at him. Talk about turning coal into a diamond. He turned out even better than I expected. He’s one of My masterpieces!”

Furthermore, it’s important to remember that a masterpiece doesn’t have to be a perfectly flawless work either. I heard a fascinating story regarding an interaction between the great composer Igor Stravinsky and one of his best concert violinists that illustrates this idea wonderfully.

Stravinsky had just completed a piece which he considered to be his masterpiece. When it came time for the musicians to begin practicing the piece, the violin player became increasingly frustrated. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t master it. It seemed impossible to get his fingers to move up and down the neck of his instrument in the manner and timing Stravinsky had dictated.

This man went up to the composer and humbly stated his concerns. “Mr. Stravinsky, the music is impossible to play. No matter how hard I try, I cannot do it perfectly. I fear I will ruin your masterpiece”

Stravinsky’s response to him was unexpected. “I wrote your part knowing no one, not even the best violinist in the world, could ever play it perfectly. But I am not interested in perfect. I am interested in hearing the beauty of your attempt at perfection. That will lead to the most powerful music. That will make it a masterpiece.”

My daughter’s art isn’t perfect, but I love it because she has put her heart into it. The violinist couldn’t play his piece perfectly, but Stravinsky loved his passion behind it. Your life is likely full of flaws, but God still loves you because you’re exactly who He created you to be.

So, the next time you are feeling down on yourself, just imagine your picture on God’s fridge. I bet you’ll find it right next to mine.

God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:7).

Now that my daughter is getting a bit older, I decided it was finally time to introduce her to the world of Harry Potter. Ideally, this would have been done through the books, but since I only have her for short periods of time each week, we chose to watch the movies instead.

At the beginning of the first film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry still doesn’t know the truth about himself, and much of the movie is dedicated to him discovering that he’s actually a powerful wizard. This has been true about him all along, but it had been hidden from him. Without knowing his true identity, he believed the false description of himself he’d received from his abusive foster parents—that he was unwanted, unloved, and a worthless nuisance.

In one of the scenes where Harry begins to discover the truth, we see him shopping for all the supplies he will need as a student. He asks Hagrid, the giant-man who has come to take Harry to wizard school, how in the world he’s supposed to pay for all the required items. Hagrid responds by casually telling Harry not to worry about all that. In the next scene, we see Harry’s face begin to glow as the door to his family’s vault swings open. It’s full of gold coins—more than Harry will ever need—and it all belongs to him.

As I watched this scene, I was reminded of how we as believers have already received the incredible wealth of God’s grace and kindness. How many of us, though, have lived much of our lives unaware of the treasure we’ve been given? Much like Harry, we still believe we’re penniless beggars relying on the generosity of others to meet our daily needs. In reality, we have been given the key to heaven’s vault and received full access to God’s grace for our lives today.

But that’s not really the main idea of this verse. What Ephesians 2:7 is telling us, is that God’s main purpose for showering us with His grace and kindness wasn’t for our glory—it was for His. He did it, in today’s language, to show off.

I like to think this is already playing out in heaven today. I imagine the angels looking down as they watch mankind destroy our own lives and the lives of those around us, which would lead them to question how anyone could see anything worth saving in humanity. But then I imagine God responding, “Just wait. You’ll see. When the time comes and heaven is full of My redeemed saints, you will understand. My grace and kindness will never be more apparent to you—or to all of creation—than it will be in that day.”

Our salvation will be a shining example for all eternity of how vast and powerful God’s grace and kindness truly are.

This post is an excerpt from my new book, 52 Amazing Things That Became True of You the Moment You Trusted Christ. If you enjoyed what you read here, be sure to check out the book for 51 more awesome truths about how God sees you!

[God] raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6).

There seems to be a lot of talk in churches these days about believers being crucified with Christ. That’s a good thing of course, because it’s true. But what I don’t hear as much of, is how those who’ve trusted Christ have been raised up from death with Him as well.

It’s almost like we’re only hearing the first half of the gospel.

Paul reminds us of that sometimes forgotten second half of the gospel here in Ephesians 2:6: The reality that everything God did for Jesus (including raising Him from the dead and seating Him in heaven), He did for you as well because of your unification with Christ.

This means you were not only connected to Jesus in His death, you were connected to Him in His resurrection and ascension as well.

Your soul already has eternal life and already lives in heaven.

This concept can be hard for us to wrap our brains around. After all, if you’re reading this, odds are good that you’re still living with a physical body. Every day you will touch, feel, smell, and taste things from the world around you. Your physical reality is likely to feel much more real to you because you’re constantly experiencing it in tangible ways.

All of which can make it that much harder to grasp this idea that your soul—the truest, deepest part of who you are; the part of you that will live for eternity—is already seated in heaven (no longer here on earth).

Someday, your body will shut down for good. At that point, you’ll be given a new body and your physical and spiritual realities will merge together for the rest of eternity. But until then, I find it can be helpful to remember it this way: Everything that happened to Jesus physically, has already happened to you spiritually:

• Jesus was crucified physically; you were crucified with Him spiritually.
• Jesus was resurrected physically; you were resurrected with Him spiritually.
• Jesus is currently present in heaven physically; you are currently present in heaven spiritually.

But what’s the point of all of this?

I find this truth to be most helpful on those days when it’s difficult to face the broken reality of this world. Whether it’s the constant evil I hear about in the news, or pain and heartache present in my own life—trusting that my soul is seated in heaven next to my Savior helps me to not lose hope.

I receive great peace through knowing that no matter what happens to me here on earth, my eternity in heaven with Jesus is eternally secure.

And how can I know that?

Because I’m already there.

Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan (Ephesians 1:11).

I’m pretty sure I started bugging my parents for a dog right about the time I first learned how to talk. It was always made clear to me, however, that it just wasn’t the right time for us to get one. I’d beg and plead to at least go and look at the pet store, they would give in, and then I’d inevitably fall in love with one of the dogs before being carried out sobbing.

After years of pleading though, my parents finally agreed that it was time for us to get a dog. We decided on a breeder, and then drove up to meet the puppies. The breeder pointed out the “perfect” pups and mentioned she would be keeping them for show dogs. We could have our pick of the others. We settled on a little girl with one ear that stuck straight up and one ear that flopped over. This flaw may have rendered her “imperfect,” but we still thought she was perfect for us.

The hardest part, was even though we knew which puppy was ours, we still couldn’t take her home yet. She was too young and needed to remain with her mother a while longer. During those weeks, I knew I had a dog; I just didn’t have her with me yet. I’d resort to daydreaming about all the fun stuff we were going to do together and the tricks I’d teach her, and I kept getting more and more excited about bringing her home. By the time she did come home, I’d built up so much anticipation I could hardly bear it. Even though I’d only met her once and she hadn’t done anything to earn my love, I couldn’t wait for her to be united with our family.

When I think of how God has chosen me to become a part of His family, I’m sometimes tempted to believe there’s no way He would have actually picked me if given the choice. I assume He had to let me in only because He was bound by His word. My logic goes something like this: God promises to receive anyone who trusts Jesus, and I’ve trusted Jesus. So, even though He probably doesn’t like me and surely doesn’t need me, He had no choice but to let me in lest He go back on His promise.

But that’s not what the Bible tells us at all. The Bible makes it clear that God chose each one of us personally. Not just to be His pets, but to be His adopted children, complete with full rights as His sons and daughters, even including an inheritance.

What’s amazing to me though, is that He chose all of us in advance—even before we were united with Christ. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to find out God was thinking of you much the same way I was thinking of my dog before she was united with our family. I knew she was going to be mine; it was just a matter of time. And the longer I waited, the more excited I got for us to be together. God knew you were going to be His, and the longer He waited, the more excited He got about being with you.

The difference though, is the only thing I could do was wait. God, however, was actively orchestrating the events of your life to lead you straight to Him. He knew how badly He wanted you specifically, so He did whatever it took to bring you home.

In Him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace… (Ephesians 1:7).

One of my favorite weekend activities growing up was riding my bike to the local arcade and blowing my heard-earned paper route money on video games.

We had a few different arcades in town, but my favorite was the huge one inside the mall. This arcade was not only the first place to play the latest games, it was the place you went to test your joystick skills against the best players in town.

But as much as I enjoyed beating other kids at Street Fighter II, my favorite activity was filling my pockets with prize tickets from the carnival style games. I’d dump quarter after quarter into Skee-Ball, the creepy shoot-out-the-clown’s-teeth-with-a-water-gun game, and of course, Whack-a-Mole.

The better you did at these games, the more tickets you earned. And the more tickets you earned, the more stuff you could buy from the prize counter.

These prizes ranged from single-ticket items like stickers and tattoos all the way up to a full-on Sega Genesis console for some ridiculously huge quantity.

But what would have happened if I went to the counter and attempted to redeem real money for the Sega Genesis? I’d probably be told to come back when I had enough tickets—the only currency they accepted there.

In a lot of ways, we do the same thing when we look at the junk in our lives and attempt to overcome it by being a better person. We look at the debt of sin we’ve accrued and hope that by going to church, doing good works, or being a “nice enough person,” we can tilt the balance sheet back in our favor.

But that’s not how forgiveness works in God’s eyes. You may as well be trying to buy your way into Heaven with arcade tickets.

The truth is, the only currency that can pay for your forgiveness is the blood of Jesus. It’s His blood that has the power to redeem you and provides forgiveness for your sins—not your ability to be a good person.

This is great news though, because once you realize your good behavior has nothing to do with you earning forgiveness, you can rest assured that bad behavior can never cause you to lose it.

Thankfully, God doesn’t dole out His forgiveness the way an arcade game distributes tickets—in small batches, and only if you win. He offers it to you solely as a gift of His grace.

Furthermore, He forgave all your sins the moment you put your trust in Christ.

You’ve been fully forgiven. You’ve been fully redeemed. Your debt has been paid.

So now, instead of trying to earn enough tickets to get to Heaven by playing Whack-a-Mole with your sin, you can relax and join Jesus over at the air hockey table—knowing that even if you lose, you will still be loved unconditionally, forgiven completely, and accepted fully.

This post is an excerpt from my new book, 52 Amazing Things That Became True of You the Moment You Trusted Christ. If you enjoyed what you read here, be sure to check out the book for 51 more awesome truths about how God sees you!

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

We have a general rule in our house that we’re quick to share things with one another, but it’s important to ask permission first.

For example, anytime my daughter wants to play a game on my phone, she just needs to ask me before taking it. As long as there isn’t a good reason for me to say no to her (such as unfinished chores or me expecting a call), I’ve promised to say yes whenever I can.

Now, imagine if my daughter kept asking permission to use my phone even after I handed it to her. She could be playing a game with the phone in her hands, but still pop her head up every few minute to ask if she can have the phone.

“Can I play a game on your phone?”
“You have my phone, Honey.”
“Can I play a game on your phone?”
“You still have my phone, Honey.”
“Can I play a game on your phone?”
“Really?”

Not only is that ridiculous, it would be somewhat annoying as well. Probably on par with the never-ending “Are we there yet?” or “I’m huuuuuuungry.”

Sometimes though, I wonder if God looks at us and says “Really?” when we keep asking Him for things that He’s already given to us. After all, according to this verse, He’s already blessed us with every spiritual blessing.

But what exactly are these blessings? The remainder of this passage tells us more about them:

• you have been made holy (v.4)
• you have been adopted as His child (v.5)
• you have been offered His grace (v.6)
• you have been redeemed and forgiven (v.7)
• you have been given wisdom and insight (v.8)
• you have been included in His inheritance (v.11)
• you have been given the Holy Spirit (v.13)

God has already given you these things, yet if you’re anything like me, you keep coming back to Him asking for them again and again. That’s why I try to pay attention to the language I use whenever I talk to God:

• Instead of asking to be forgiven when I mess up, I thank Him for how He has already forgiven me.
• Instead of asking for His grace, I thank Him for the unending grace He’s already showered upon me.

This may seem like nothing more than a subtle shift in semantics, but I’ve found it helps me remember that I don’t need to strive to please God in order to receive His blessing. I’ve already received it (Tweet this!). All I need to do is trust and believe that if God says it’s true about all believers, it’s true about me as well.

This post is an excerpt from my new book, 52 Amazing Things That Became True of You the Moment You Trusted Christ. If you enjoyed what you read here, be sure to check out the book for 51 more awesome truths about how God sees you!

So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law (Galatians 5:1).

For years, I had accepted the fact that Jesus paid for my sin on the cross, but every time I messed up I felt the need to earn God’s favor back and ask forgiveness for what I had just done.

I believed that my initial salvation came from the work of Jesus alone (saved by grace), but I also believed my continued salvation—and my acceptance by God—was a reward I maintained only if I was somehow good enough (saved by keeping the law).

I kept going back to the slavery of the law even though Christ had set me free from it.

But remember: When did Jesus pay for your sins? It was on the Cross.

And how many of your sins were done after the Cross? All of them.

Every one of your sins—past, present, and even future sins—were paid for 2000 years ago when Jesus said, “It is finished.”

When you accepted Christ’s payment for your sins, it was for all of them. Not just the ones you had committed up to the point of your initial salvation.

This idea that we need to keep coming back for forgiveness and make things right every time we sin is the same as telling Jesus we need Him to go back to the Cross and do it again.

It’s telling Jesus that what He did wasn’t enough.

This is why it is so important to understand how your behavior—no matter how sinful it may be—can never separate you from God’s love or acceptance once you have put your hope in the work of Christ.

Remember, Jesus is your only hope of freedom.

The minute you put your faith in Him, your balance was paid in full.

You were set free from the treadmill of trying to do enough good to overcome the inevitable junk that remains.

Trust this truth, and you will remain free.