Ephesians 1:6

"[So that we might be] to the praise and the commendation of His glorious grace (favor and mercy), which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved" Ephesians 1:6.

Paul continues the explanation of God's predestination, here in verse 6, and in my prayer and meditation of this verse, another poem began to form. I think it reveals the natural tendency we have, to tie our life... the way we're raised... things we may have done... which draw us toward the thought, that we have some hand in our salvation beyond just acceptance of His grace.

I looked for what it was you may have seen in me,
upon for which had brought favor toward my destiny.

I searched within with all my might,
to find one thing for your delight.

Thinking back I could not find,
nothing good had come to mind.

Was it something future tense,
my heart jumping with such suspense.

Then Your Word revealed the sum of all it's light,
my fate was set on nothing more that Your delight!

Why has God chosen each of us as His children? Verse 6 reveals nothing more than, "to the praise and the commendation of His glorious grace". We must squeeze all of God's love from these studies, my friends... People point to repentance, judgment, and wrath in their effort to bring the lost into salvation, and all of those things are real and true. But salvation belongs to God, and our responsibility is to show them this love... this favor and mercy from God, which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved, which Paul speaks of.

It is interesting to note that the term "Beloved" is a title applied in the Septuagint to Israel in its special role as God's chosen race. The grace is bestowed in and with Christ Himself. It is in the gift of God's Son that the gift of grace becomes ours and the splendor of that grace is fully realized and seen by mankind. God the Father declared for all to hear... "and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased" Mat 3:17.

And because we have placed our faith in the Beloved Son... "God the Father delivered (rescued - rhuomai) us from the domain (exousia - "right and the might") of darkness (nothing less than the kingdom of Satan, in which we were all once captive slaves, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Literally - the kingdom of the Son of His love)" Col 1:13.

Let's pick up with Ephesians verse 1:7-9 next time.

I love you.