Our destiny

I often adapt prayers from St Paul in my own private prayer times, and
one of them, from Ephesians 1:15-19, asks that the people he's praying
for may know the hope to which God has called them, the riches of God's
glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparable power for us
who believe. Whatever their circumstances (and Paul's were bad - he was
in prison awaiting trial for his life), these things are worth having
and praying for.

The hope to which God calls us is the hope of resurrection life in the
new creation - the kingdom of God which we're praying for in the Lord's
prayer, where God's will is going to be done perfectly. That is the
destiny God is calling us towards, and what a destiny it is. Although we
can't accurately imagine what it will be like, it is worth trying,
basing our thoughts on the clues Scripture gives us. It will be perfect
- no suffering, no evil, no death, none of the things we hate so much in
this life. It will be a new heaven and a new earth, and we will be
living on that new earth, in perfect harmony with all creation. Above
all, God will live with us, we will 'see' him 'face to face', we will
know even as we are known, and that relationship with Father, Son and
Holy Spirit will bring fulfilment and joy beyond our wildest dreams.
'His servants will serve him', says Revelation 22:3, and the idea of
serving him perfectly is something that fills me with yearning. What
will that service involve? Worship, yes of course; but it will include
tasks and responsibilities in the rest of creation - work with no
drudgery, only utter fulfilment.

I've got as far as Exodus in the Old Testament part of my annual journey
through the Bible, and am reading about the construction of the
tabernacle and how the Spirit inspired people with the ability to work
with metal and wood and fabric and perfume. I thought about how we would
admire someone with talent in only one of those fields, and how God was
the inspiration behind all those varied crafts; and then I thought about
today and the amazing variety of human talent, from artists to science,
agriculture to engineering, politics to counselling - and thinking that
God is the inspiration behind all that is good in every calling. Since
that is so, how could we ever imagine that life with him would be boring!

The riches of God's inheritance is 'in the saints'. When Paul talks
about saints he means all God's faithful people: we are God's
inheritance, God looks upon us as his greatest riches! That is so
important to realise. The value that God puts on each one of us is
greater than anything we could imagine. So how can anyone say they are a
waste of space? And how could we look down on any other Christian?

The incomparable power that is working for us is the same power that
raised Jesus Christ from the dead. That is the power at work in us and
working all things together for our good - not for our comfort or
convenience, but for our ultimate good, which is the realization of our
destiny and our presence with God as his glorious inheritance. Trust him!