God's "Want To"

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ."
(Ephesians 1:3)

Think what that must have meant to Paul, let alone to you and me. Everything he had long been working and sweating and fretting about concerning his life with God, Paul had been given! Everything! All of it! Not a moment of work left, not a second of fear over whether or not God was pleased with him enough--God's blessing had been dumped on Paul for an entirely unrelated reason.

God wanted to. So He did.

The love of God compelled God, and it still does. I'm so glad! Oh, I've heard the love of God described as a love that decides for the benefit of another, and I know we're all supposed to love like that. I wonder how many times I have heard someone say, "Love is a decision!" And the implication is always, "So get busy making decisions!" The goal seems to be about improving our relationships, and that's not something we should downplay. After all, it's just logical. . .and calculated.

But is that really what motivated God? Is that why God ". . .blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ"? I know that somewhere "way back when," He decided to send Jesus to the cross and to raise Him again, bringing us with Him. But was it calculated only?

No way! That's not the love I know from God. He wants to! And it's the want that motivates the decision. His love is ever flowing to me, ever convincing me, ever rescuing me from doubt and fear and covetousness and lust and unbelief. . .and convincing me that He is as good as He says He is.

I'll tell you, that's one of the highest goals of my faith--to believe God about Himself. To live believing that God is who He says He is, that He does what He says He does out of love, and that He did what He says He did--blessed ME in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

That's tremendous.

Really, Father? You really did? You're not kidding? I don't have to earn anything anymore--I have it already in Christ?

"Yes. It's true, son."

And so, amen. Or, as my dad might say, "Yee-gads!"

"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God." (2 Cor 1:20)