An unimaginable inheritance

289 an unimaginable inheritanceDid you ever wish someone would knock on your door and tell you that a rich uncle you never heard of would have died and left you a huge fortune? The idea that money emerges out of nowhere is exciting, a dream of many people and a premise of many books and films. What would you do with your newfound wealth? What influence would he have on your life? Would he fix all your problems and let you walk on a road of prosperity?

This wish is unnecessary for you. It has already happened. You have a rich relative who died. He left a will in which he used you as the main beneficiary. This will can not be challenged or overturned in any court. None of this is for tax or lawyers to spend. It just belongs to you.

The final element of our identity in Christ is to be an inheritance. This brings us to the top of our identity cross - we are now in the grand finale: "We are children of God and joint heirs of Christ who shares his inheritance with us" (Gal. 4,6-7 and Rom. 8,17).

The new covenant took effect when Jesus died. We are his heirs and all the promises God made to Abraham are yours (Gal. 3,29). The promises in Jesus' will cannot be compared to the earthly promises in an uncle's will: money, a house or a car, pictures or antiques. We own the best and brightest future that anyone can imagine. But it is inconceivable to us what it will really mean to dwell in God's presence to explore eternity, to boldly go to a place that no one has gone before!

When we open a will, we do not have to wonder what is effectively left to us. We can be sure of our inheritance. We know that we will receive eternal life (Titus 3,7), plus the (king) kingdom of God, which is promised to all those who love him "(Jak. 2,5). We have been given the Holy Spirit as a guarantee that we will one day receive all that is promised in the will (Eph. 1,14); it will be an extremely great and glorious inheritance (Eph. 1,18). Paul said in Eph. 1,13: in him you too, after hearing the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in him you too, when you believed, were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. In a sense, we are already on the road to prosperity. The bank accounts are full.

Can you imagine what it must be like to receive such riches? Maybe we can get a feel for it when we imagine the Disney character of the miser McDuck. This cartoon character is a filthy rich man who likes to go to his treasury. One of his favorite actions is swimming through whole mountains of gold. But our inheritance with Christ will be more fantastic than the vast wealth of that miser.

Who are we? Our identity is in Christ. We have been called to be the children of God, made into a new creation and covered by His grace. We are expected to bring forth fruit and to express Christ's life, and ultimately to inherit all the riches and joy that we had in our lives but a foretaste. We should never again ask who we are. Also, we should not seek our identity in anything or anyone but Jesus.

by Tammy Tkach


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