What really gets my blood boiling is when children fight over an inheritance. How many families have been torn apart because one person claimed too much when the inheritance was divided? I really have to congratulate my mother on this. One day, about 20 years before she died, she gathered all the children. We had to choose what we wanted and it had to go on a list. The day she moved into the retirement home, each of us had to go pick up the pieces for her. The rest of her estate was shared equally between us. That was it.
Children must remember that inheritance is a privilege, not a right. If there is something to inherit, that is a gift. You have no more right to anything from your parents than anyone else. And if grandma and grandpa have decided that it will be, it’s not up to you to make other suggestions. It is still a privilege.
It is the same when it comes to God. It is an enormous privilege to inherit from God. The difference is that we get everything that Jesus gets. Stop and let that sink in. You inherit exactly the same as Jesus Christ. There is no need to fight for one to get more than the other.
How does it work?
Let’s think about this first. We don’t automatically inherit, in other words, because we were born into the family. Neither do we inherit, nor can we inherit, because we have done something on our part. No, we inherit simply because of an enormous amount of love and grace.
Let’s go back to the ‘how’ of our inheritance: Jesus is the Son of God and therefore inherits everything. Jesus is the heir of God. Those of us who believe in God and accept Jesus become brothers and sisters of Jesus. Y clever, now we are also heirs! Obviously, this also happens by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Because the same thing happens to all of us, there can be no fights. No one can be favored or “punished” because they have done their part or not.
7God’s gift has restored our relationship with him and brought us back to life. 8And there is more life to come, an eternity of life! You can count on this.
By grace, we all inherit from God and now He is our Father. We inherit eternal life and this includes the privilege of one day going and living in God’s heaven. What a wonderful perspective is that? We no longer need to live in fear or the question of where we will eventually end up. We can say with certainty and know that we are free from hell and will live a peaceful life with God.
That is our heritage. Wow, that is the best news any believer could receive.
But we don’t just receive our inheritance when we leave this earth. No, we already received all this from God. We already inherit love, grace and peace. We can also share God’s wisdom, power and truth now. All this is already within our reach.
So sad that we don’t take it and make it a part of our lives. I don’t know if it’s because we don’t realize that we already inherit all these wonderful gifts or because we don’t know how to make them a part of our lives.
Begin to believe now that you are an heir of Almighty God and that you have already received these gifts. Align your life with God’s will and pray that God’s Spirit will share it with you one by one.
Holy Scripture
Titus 3:3-7
Reflection
What does it mean to you that you are now one of God’s heirs?
How much of your heritage is already part of your life?
What should you do to make it part of your life?
Sentence
Father, there is no greater gift than being Your heir. But I do realize that many of the gifts I have inherited are not part of my life. And I really don’t know how to do that. Please help me with this. In the name of Jesus, amen.