Romans 8:17 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
As I was preparing my grandchildren’s’ Easter baskets, I began reflecting on Easter’s in my childhood. I remember as a school girl my Mom getting my brother and myself ready for the day. First she would make me a beautiful new dress. She made most of my clothes at the time. Then we would go shopping for the accessories to match. A straw brimmed hat, or a pill box hat, matching small purse, white gloves and of course white patent leather shoes! Easter was the first day of the year we were allowed to wear white, and we did. My brother looked sharp too. He also had a hat, a suit and new shoes.
Once we were all put together on the morning of Easter, we were off to church. Church in a Greek Catholic church was very different. I loved to walk in with the scent of lilies and hyacinth nearly overpowering the sanctuary. The cross was draped in purple and His crown was on the top, but…He was not there! He had risen indeed! Since most of the mass was in Russian, I really did not grasp the significance of what the priest was saying, but, I knew something very significant happened on that day! At home we were finally able to see our simple baskets of candy. Our dinner represented elements you might see at a Passover Seder; red beets with horseradish to represent the bitter experience Jesus went through, the unleavened bread to represent our sinless Savior with no yeast, yeast representing sin. Lastly, the milk and egg ‘cheese’ ball. I was never sure what that represented.
I enjoyed the ‘look back’, but I could not stay there. I thought about what the Resurrection meant for us, beside the fact that Jesus took our sins, past, present and future, on Him. I thought about when my mother-in-law passed away. The executor of the will, my brother-in-law read her will. Now we all knew she had a will, we were even aware of some of our inheritance in the will. Still, we were not able to take possession of those items-until she died.
This same Jesus left an inheritance for us! The Bible, is His last will and testament. Reading the ‘will’ lets us know what we have inherited on this Resurrection Day. It is all we will ever need. Let’s look at some of the attributes we inherited on Resurrection Day.
First and foremost, we became ‘children of GOD’. I Peter 1:23 tells us if we choose to, we can be born again of incorruptible seed of the Word of God. Imagine that, we are the children of a King! King’s kids have all they need because their father has all he needs, and shares freely with the children he adores.
We also have total forgiveness of our sin. Ephesians 1:7 Our sins were washed white when we asked Jesus to wash us clean with the blood he already shed for us. Does it give us the right to go back to our sin? NO! We must repent, turn from sin, and not go back to it.
Third, we can become a new creation! II Corinthians 6:19 tells us out old nature is gone and we are brand new. I experienced this when I gave my heart to God. I had no direction, I was often moody and miserable. Christ entered my heart and did a remodel! I became ‘new and improved’. Believe me, my family noticed it too.
We are blessed! Galatians 3:9 Tells us ‘those who have faith are blessed’. Blessed is a word that means ‘made holy, or consecrated’. Being holy and consecrated you are ‘set apart’ from the crowd because you have a higher purpose. You represent God.
You are victorious! Revelation 21:7 7Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.
I only gave you five of the plethora of attributes we inherit as God’s children. I highly recommend that we dwell on these words and they will change the way we think and even the way we behave, and believe.
Try it and let me know how it works for you!
Here’s a question to ponder; how would my life be different if I meditated on the Resurrection of Christ, and how His sacrificial life and death changed ME?
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