CHARISSA CHEONG reflects on the fact that we are “not merely allowed into the presence of the Father”, but welcomed as “treasured sons and daughters”…
London, UK
PICTURE: Trifonov_Evgeniy/iStockphoto
For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, He gave them right standing with Himself. And having given them right standing, He gave them His glory. – Romans 8:29-30
Does it ever just suddenly blow you away when you think about the fact that we can have access to God?
I know for a fact that I’m guilty of taking the Lord’s presence for granted and of neglecting to spend time with Him, even though the very fact of me being able to come close to Him is so radical and so worth treasuring.
“Through the sacrifice of Jesus, we have been given access to the Father that we never could have earned on our own. It’s a free and incredible gift. But somehow, in the seemingly mundane rhythm of our everyday prayer lives, I think we can sometimes sit before God with a lack of gratefulness or awe at the amazing grace and mercy that permits us to be sat there in the first place.”
Through the sacrifice of Jesus, we have been given access to the Father that we never could have earned on our own. It’s a free and incredible gift. But somehow, in the seemingly mundane rhythm of our everyday prayer lives, I think we can sometimes sit before God with a lack of gratefulness or awe at the amazing grace and mercy that permits us to be sat there in the first place.
These verses from Romans 8 remind us of the fact that we can have right standing with God, and be deemed fit to enter His presence, thanks to Jesus’ death. But even more radically than that, it tells us that we are brothers and sisters of Christ Himself.
We are not merely allowed into the presence of the Father, but we are welcomed as treasured sons and daughters.
At an earlier point in this chapter, we are reminded that we are not “fearful slaves” but “heirs” of the King.
We do not need to come into God’s presence afraid that He will shun us because of our sin, nor do we need to beg Him for the smallest privilege like a servant or a worker does with an unkind boss. We are dearly loved heirs who are entitled to everything that He owns. It’s just one thought from this chapter that reminds me how blessed we are when we enter His presence.
In these verses, we are also invited to share in the glory of the Lord. To see His radiance and brilliance shining in our lives. We are permitted to enter God’s presence and see His glory, but also to literally reflect that glory on the earth, so that others will see it in us and worship Him. It’s the second thought from this passage that demonstrates how amazing it is to know and experience the presence of the Lord.
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Finally, these verses tell us that we have been chosen by God “to become like His Son.”
God wants us to look like Jesus. To be a mirror-image of the glory and righteousness that He modelled for us. To bear His family resemblance.
In the midst of our neglect of Him, our sins and repeated mistakes, God has not and will never give up on us. He’s going to keep working on us until we look just like Jesus.
Not only are we welcomed into God’s presence, but when we enter, He begins this gentle but transformative work upon us that frees us from our own dullness and dreariness and makes us shine with the righteousness of our Saviour.
Doesn’t that thought just blow you away?
