S1P3 – Our salvation is God’s pleasure

Eph. 1: 5

For He foreordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His own children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the purpose of His will [because it pleased Him and was His kind intent]–

I expect that we each have a picture of God that pops up during our quiet time with Him.  When I close my eyes and focus on the Lord, in the silence of a dark living room, sitting on the couch, knees to my chest, I see Jesus.  I am a child on his lap balled up and nestled in his arms, speechless and calm.  My only thought is the knowledge that as happy as I am to simply spend time my Lord, He’s even happier.  I don’t know why I think that.  It’s just the feeling I’ve always gotten when I sit with my savior.

Paul tells the church at Ephesus that God destined us to be adopted as His own because it gave Him pleasure.  This is not a God who is waiting at the threshold to salvation prepared to browbeat us into submission.  This is not a God who reluctantly allows us to be restored to Him.  This is not a God who accepts us into His fold out of obligation or for the sake of simply keeping His word.

The Father, in His kindness, put into action a plan in which His perfect son, His only son, would serve as the intermediary to bring us into His family as His own children.  Not only that, our adopted Father executed this plan because it gives Him great pleasure.  Through this justification, we become His pleasure.  We are the embodiment of God’s joy.  When you picture God in your quiet time, do you picture a joyous father who is happy just to be with you, one who carefully selected you to be adopted into His family?  If you have never felt God’s joy at having you join His kingdom, I pray that He floods you with it even now.  I pray that you see the face of your savior smiling upon you.