Spiritual Privilege

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In times of loss, trouble, and confusion, we look for support and reassurance. That’s a universal instinct, bred in us from when we were children depending on our parents for protection and comfort. And we are not just physical beings, obviously. We have spiritual and emotional components. We have a soul. When things get tough, we’re not just looking for a meal or a diaper change, but for something that will calm our emotions and restore our inner peace.

If you are a follower of Christ, you know that God is the source of what your soul needs – and, many times, he provides what your mind and body need as well. How quickly we forget this in the face of trouble. Psalm 37:25 says “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.” God the Father is sometimes known as “Jehovah Jireh” – God the Provider, in Hebrew. Jesus confirms this when he says, "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?" (Matthew 6:26). The Bible even says that God “satisfies our hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:17)!

It is a privilege to receive these benefits – a spiritual privilege. Notice that Ps 37:25 specifies that the righteous are never forsaken. And in the Matthew 6 passage, Christ is speaking to His followers, in what's called the Sermon on the Mount. Later in the same passage in Matthew 6, He sums it all up, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things [basic needs] will be given to you as well.” Jesus is making a very clear distinction between his followers, and pagans who follow other gods.

So are we all children of God? No. Some are left out. And in this case, the distinction has nothing to do with race, or socio-economic status, or education, or politics, or any other human metric. Nor is it arbitrary. They are left out because they choose to be left out. But, they say, how could a loving God allow this to happen? Because He is a loving God. He loves us enough to give us the freedom to follow him, or not. Forced obedience is slavery. God does not enslave us. He calls everyone into voluntary relationship with Himself, in Christ. Unfortunately, everyone does not listen. Maybe because some people think they know what’s best for themselves and don’t need God. Maybe because following Christ can mean hardship – anything from social cancellation to physical persecution.

While some say “no” to God out of arrogance or fear of what others will say or do, some just don’t want to submit to God’s authority. On the other hand, when you join God’s family, you acknowledge that Christ died to save you, and you call Him Lord. Of everything. John 1: 12 says, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” And in Romans 10:9, “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

While the Bible confirms that “the rain falls on the just and the unjust”, the promise of eternal life is not universal. We are created by a loving God, but the relationship got broken way back when Adam disobeyed, and many of us are still going Adam’s way today. So we all start out as prodigal sons and daughters, but God has made a way to bring us home. He allows each of us to choose – life or death. Spiritually speaking, the privileges of eternal inheritance are only available those who submit to Christ as Savior and Lord. And when we do, those promises of provision and peace become very real indeed.

Standing with you,

Carolyn

Did this article make you think? Encourage you? Bother you? Remind you to call your mother? Please leave a comment below!