This evening I was reading back through a couple of my last blogs. I was reading my blog titled Touching the Clothes - Passing Holiness ( http://amomentwithgod-srh.blogspot.com/2016/01/touching-clothes-passing-holiness.html) and one of the lines really caught my eye, which wasn't really about clothes at all. Here is the line - " Thus, those which are made holy, set apart for God, are provided for by God."
When I read that line, it seemed I suddenly gained deeper understanding concerning God's promise and plan for us. That line was based on a few verses from Ezekiel 44:28-30 NIV:
[28] “ 'I am to be the only inheritance the priests have. You are to give them no possession in Israel; I will be their possession. [29] They will eat the grain offerings, the sin offerings and the guilt offerings; and everything in Israel devoted to the Lord will belong to them. [30] The best of all the firstfruits and of all your special gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give them the first portion of your ground meal so that a blessing may rest on your household."
Basically God chose the Levites, set them apart for service to Himself, and then provided for them out of all that He was His. Think on that for a second...God chooses them and sets them apart (sanctifies), calls them His own, and then calls them to serve Him, and in return He provides them everything they need. According to scripture in the New Testament we are chosen (Eph 1:11) and called (Rom 8:30), sanctified (1 Cor 6:11) and set apart, His own sons and daughters (2 Cor 6:18). In other words, the same principles apply to us!
It is like the Father's statement to the older brother in the story of the prodigal son, "My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours." Luke 15:31NIV. We are always with Him, He has chosen us and set us apart, and we are hidden in Him now, and everything of His is ours, because that is how He cares for those He has chosen. The obvious good news is that we are all His chosen and beloved ones. We just need to learn to step into this reality, in the same way that the older brother needed to step into that reality.
God really is that good, and really is that generous. We don't want to cross over into the name it and claim it mentality, but we need to know that our share is not the scraps from the table, but rather the feast of the King Himself, at His invitation.
The older brother lived captive to his own reality, thinking that his father never gave him anything good (Luke 15:29). If He had only grasped the truth of the Father's love and generosity, His life would have been markedly different! In the same way, I believe the Lord wants us to expand our understanding of His promise and blessing, and step into His reality, leaving our "older son" mentality in our past.
Lord, I don't grasp this fully, that I know. I also know You are calling me to step into Your reality, so please help me and help us all come to understand how good and generous You really are!
Amen!
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