ODJ: wanted
April 27, 2011
Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ (v.4).
READ: Ephesians 1:1-14
Two weeks ago, our friends traveled to Ethiopia to meet and bring home their newly adopted daughter. For a couple of years, our friends have prayed for little Lilia, saved thousands of dollars to pay the adoption expenses, and then waited months and months until they could welcome her into their life. But before they knew who would be their daughter and before they knew her name or face, they were already waiting for her. They wanted her.
In his Ephesians letter, the apostle Paul offers a long list of the myriad ways God has waited for us and desired us. In the original Greek, these verses (1:3-14) are one long, gushing sentence (more than 200 words). It’s as if Paul gets carried away with excitement and his words run off the page as he attempts to describe the extent of God’s love for us. Paul tells us that:
• God chose us “before He made the world” (v.4). For those of us who have always felt left out and never included, we can relish in the fact that we’ve been chosen. And we were chosen long before we took our first breath.
• God “decided in advance to adopt us” (v.5). For those of us who live with the constant fear that we will somehow bungle or mismanage God’s kindness, we can rest in God’s firm decision to love us. If we want Jesus, we will find He has already (and for a very long time) wanted us.
• God “has showered His kindness on us” (v.8). For those of us who have never felt another’s extravagant, I’m-crazy-about-you love, we can rejoice in the reality that God delights in us.
If you have never felt that you were truly wanted, know this: God wants you . . . more than you can imagine. —Winn Collier
When have you felt the least desired or wanted in your life? What does it feel like to be desired by God?
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What does it feel like to be desired by God?
That’s a good question. Personally, I really don’t know. =/