Yesterday, Linda and I had thanksgiving dinner with our youngest daughter's family-the Merwins. Wonderful meal and good time all around. After the meal, the conversation somehow migrated to a description of a two-handed sword that they had recently purchased at an auction (for a ridiculously low price, I might add). It is made of solid steel and appeared to be approximately five foot long; in short - a beast!!!
Later on, my son-in-law, Mike, sent me these pictures of our granddaughter Elizabeth (Lizzy) carving the turkey. For those of you who do not know her, she is a quiet and reserved person, with a pleasant sort of impish humor. If you look closely at her face in the pictures, I think you will see what I mean! First, the idea and then its execution, WOW!!!
Being a day of Thanksgiving, I couldn't help but think about what I should be thankful for, so this passage from Paul's letter to the Ephesians came to mind.....
Ephesians, Chapter 1 (World English Bible)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love, 5 having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire, (emphasis added vss. 3-5) 6 to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved, 7 in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him 10 to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in him.
God chose us "before the foundation of the world". We have always been wanted and God's plan has always been to have us as HIS CHILDREN. This says a lot about HIM!!! I just can't help but wonder what sort of expression was on HIS face when HE first thought about all this and when the plan was completed?