None of us can fully comprehend all that has been given to us as believers from Father God’s loving, giving heart. The best-known verse in the Bible reminds us that “God so loved… that He gave…” As the apostle Paul writes to the Colossians about the blessings of redemption and the inheritance all Christians have in God’s grace, he breaks into thanksgiving. Note his words in Col 1:12 – 14 where he finds himself “…giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the Kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.”
Many years ago my cousin adopted a little boy when he was almost two years old. Suffice to say, he came from a background of great need. He had a ball and a handful of clothes and nothing else when he arrived. At that time, my cousin’s family was going through financial difficulty, but, they gave their new son everything they could. They basically covered all his needs. However, we serve a Father who is extravagant in blessing His people. Someone in our church was emigrating and wanted to give her son’s toys away. It was decided that my cousin’s son should get them. We carefully wrapped each toy and piled them up in the middle of the room. When my cousin arrived with her son, we told him they were all his gifts. We handed him the first one. Nervously, he opened it. His face lit up as he saw what it was. After some time we encouraged him to put it aside and open another one. A bit reluctantly, he put it aside and opened the next gift. Oh my, to see his delight grow even more. Eventually, he realized that all these gifts were his. He began opening them all. We had obviously saved the best for last. Watching the joy on that little boy’s face will be a memory I will treasure my entire life. From having nothing, he was suddenly lavished with abundance.
Remembering that event always leads me to reflect on the Father’s heart. God has so much for us, but, like this precious boy, who was at first reluctant to let go of his first gift to take hold of more, we are often reluctant to let go of what we have to take hold of what God has for us. Just think again about the Scripture passage above. Can we even begin to comprehend all that our Father has for us? Our
Father gave us His only Son to rescue us from darkness. Our Father has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints. Our Father has given us the Holy Spirit (1 John 3:1). Just the single aspect of God the Father transplanting us from the kingdom of darkness into His Son’s Kingdom is worthy of our eternal praise.
Yet, all too often we want to hold onto the little we have for fear of surrendering it. For some it is ministries they hold onto. For others positions at work, financial gain, prestige etc. But, as we meditate on God our Father and His heart for us, it is easier to surrender. Sometimes, however, our idea of ‘father’ is the very reason we battle to surrender. We are not too sure if God will really come through for us. Perhaps life has taught us that fathers are not always trustworthy. But, we cannot allow our thoughts about the failings of a human father or authority figure, to be a stumbling block to receiving the inheritance we have in God, our Heavenly Father. Some of us were blessed with wonderful earthly fathers, but no earthly father can represent all that God our Father is and has for His children.
Oswald Chambers says, “True surrender will always go beyond natural devotion. If we will only give up, God will surrender Himself to embrace all those around us and will meet their needs which were created by our surrender. Beware of stopping anywhere short of total surrender to God. Most of us have only a vision of what this really means, but have never truly experienced it.”
The more we surrender to the Lord, the more we will receive and be open to all that He has for us. Let us choose to “let go and let God”.