God’s “Spiritual” Blessings

by adamsteins

“What does love mean to you?”

A friend had recently asked me this question, and as I sat there pondering the many definitions that this world has created for  this particular word, I found myself giving him a one word answer: “Sacrifice.”

Too many of us see the word “love” and instantly think of it as an emotion that we possess as humans for one another or something that we, ourselves, long for. First of all, none of us possess love. It is impossible. We are a fallible creature. If you don’t believe me then talk to Paul. He cited at least eight solid pieces of of scripture in Romans 3 on how no one is righteous (Romans 3:11-18), and that’s just the start of his epistles. Second, love is supposed to be given, not recieved.

I hope you haven’t thought of me as being too brash and clicked away from this page already. If that is your case, then please hear mine. We have already received love. There was no other reason as to why an almighty, perfect God had sent His only Begotten Son to earth to die for the sins of useless, vile men such as ourselves unless it was in the name of love. We have received love in full. However, so often we look for this love in other people that when they fall short of our expectations, we look for it from God and feel that we’re even being shorted by Him. Brothers and sisters, this cannot be!

The cause of this epidemic, in my opinion, stems from the cardinal sin: pride. ALL of us are prideful. Remember, not one of us is righteous (Rom. 3:11). What I see so often, especially in the church, are people seeking God for their own glory and not His. Scripture such as the sacredly abused Romans 8:28, “…in all things God works for the good of those who love him,” is quoted time and time again because people misinterpret it to mean that God works everything out for our good so that we can go live a happy life and always count on the Lord to be there to soak up His infinite blessings. I’m not saying that God isn’t going to be there, but if you decide to pray to Him concerning that six-figure salary job that you wanted so that  you can upgrade to a better-furnished three story house, then don’t expect God to “work for the good of those who love Him.” If you love God then you will follow His commands (John 14:15; 15:10).

God commands us to love others and not ourselves. But wait, I just said we don’t possess love. Yes, as a fallible human race we do not, but as a new creation in Christ we are given everything we need to love one another because we have been accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6). Here is the point I feel most people miss about Romans 8:28. They find the first half of it so comforting that they close their Bible before going on! Here’s how it reads, “…in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Ephesians 1:4 says that God “chose us” before the world was made to be adopted into His kingdom, being clothed not just with Christ’s riches and blessings, but also His very nature (v.5). We must understand the blessings of God in order to understand why God really chose us for His purpose. Ephesians 1:3 states that God has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing.” I don’t want you to make the same mistake I did when I first read this and think that we are just blessed materially. Then again, we are not just blessed immaterially, either. Pastor John MacArthur puts it a fine way, “But rather [spiritual blessings refer] to the work of God, who is the divine and spiritual source of all blessings.” (The MacArthur Commentary Bible)

When God “chose us” (Eph. 1:4), it is to mean that God chose us for Himself, for the purpose that we praise Him for His glory. When God blesses new believers for their obedience after they take big steps toward His kingdom’s purpose, such as baptism or a prayer of confession, it is a joy that they have never felt before. It is such a pure joy that believers will continually search for that same experience with God over and over again. That inevitably launches them into a take-take relationship with God. They forever want His blessings and not God. However, to love God is to love his commands, and to love his commands is to love sacrifice.

God has allowed us to be sanctified in Christ for the purpose of His praise and glory (Eph. 1:12). We are not called to serve God and then be paid an allowance. Just as God had stripped Himself of His divine privileges and made Himself a slave for us when He came to earth (Philippians 2:7), so He also expects us to strip ourselves of all ambition and make ourselves a slave to His purpose. We must pray about such sacrifices, for such a call is impossible for us to take on by ourselves. We would never do it, and some of us never will because we focus on how God can please us, and not on how we can please Him. He is our Master, but He is a faithful, all-loving one at that. So don’t ever feel like you will regret sacrificing your life to God. His grace and love is enough.

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