Ephesians 1:7-12 (MSG Translation)
Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.
I read this verse in the Message Bible translation. I then read it in the New King James Version:
Ephesians 1:7-12 (NKJV Translation)
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
I like both translations, although the Message translation illuminates what the New King James version was trying to say.
The passage came to life for me when I attended the Good News Home for Women’s 30 anniversary banquet dinner. The Good News Home for Women ministers to women addicted or abusing substances. The testimonies of each woman portrayed was amazing. Each described how she was broken, wounded, beaten, defeated and every other adjective you can think of from life. Each had a different past, a diverse upbringing, but a similar path to a dead-end. Some were facing prison time because of their addiction while others were facing death. After going through the Good News Home program, each graduated to a healthy life with many years of sobriety and clean living under their belt.
One woman stood out in particular to me. She made one simple statement that summed up a life of abuse and addiction. When asked why she came to the Good News Home, she said, “I’m tired of dying. I want to start living.”
The central theme of Eph. 1:7 – 12 is the abundant life we have in and because of Jesus Christ. These women were walking, talking, breathing examples of the abundant life after they graduated from the Good News Home program. Each traveled a different road to dead-end lives but not too dissimilar to the road each one of us travels. Listening to their testimonies, I related to their struggles and challenges in life. They chose to deal with their troubles through drugs and alcohol. I chose a different method. Yet, the similarity made me realize we both needed a savior. We needed Jesus Christ and in Him, I (we) have abundant life.
#offeringthoughts
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