My wife and two boys are currently on a short-term mission trip to Peru. I miss them. While she is away, I am wearing the wedding band and at times look at the ring, which is a reminder of her. Whereas a husband and a wife can wear rings to remember each other while they are apart, God, who is our husband (Jeremiah 31:32), uses something more than a ring to declare that we are His.
The Holy Spirit Himself is the seal that affirms our status as the Lord's bride and God's children (Ephesians 1:13-14, II Corinthians 1:21-22). We are marked with the Holy Spirit, the seal of God's ownership. When God sees us, He sees the Holy Spirit dwelling in us (I Corinthians 3:16, 6:19) and knows that we are His. We are His bride, His children, His heir, who has a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance in the kingdom of heaven. The Holy Spirit is like an indelible imprint that is in us.
As if this is not enough, God says that He has engraved us on the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16). Sometimes I write things on my hands, because that is the most convenient place to look up and find. When something is engraved on the hands, there is no chance of forgetting it. God has engraved our name on His palms, where He will never forget us -- never forget that we are His.
A contract between men may be breached. Even a marriage covenant is sometimes broken. But the covenant God has with us is sealed with the Holy Spirit and backed up by inscription of our names on His hands. It is an everlasting covenant that will be kept.
"Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name." (Revelations 3:12)
No comments:
Post a Comment