“You are doubly mine”
Note from Kristi Graner
I heard a story recently about a young man who built a boat. He spent hours of time designing, building and painting. He used his skill and love to craft the boat just the way he wanted. Whenever he had free time, he loved to take the boat down to the river and float the boat. He tied it to a rope and would allow the boat to float in the current.
One day when he was out at the river, a storm came up unexpectedly. The wind was strong and the waves were wild. As he tried to pull his boat in to shore, the rope broke! His boat floated downstream and he was unable to get to it. After the storm, he searched along the shore upstream and downstream but could not find his boat.
A year or so later, the boat maker was walking in a nearby town. He glanced in the window of a second-hand shop and was shocked to see his boat. He went into the shop for a closer look – there was no mistaking it.
He recognized every detail of that boat because he had made it with his own hands. It was his boat.
He shared with the shop owner how he had made this boat with his own hands and how the boat had been lost. He was so glad to have found it.
The boat owner was impressed by his craftsmanship and his story, but told him, “That’s impressive, but you still have to buy it if you want it.”
So the boat maker raised the money and bought back his boat.
As he left the shop with his boat, he said to it, “Now you are doubly mine! I made you and I purchased you for a price.”
In the book of Ephesians, Paul writes to the church in Ephesus (and to us) to remind us all that this is our story.
“Paul, messenger of Jesus Christ by God’s choice, to all faithful Christians at Ephesus (and other places where this letter is read): grace and peace be to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise God for what he has done for us Christians!
Praise be to God for giving us through Christ every possible spiritual benefit as citizens of Heaven! For consider what he has done—before the foundation of the world he chose us to become, in Christ, his holy and blameless children living within his constant care. He planned, in his purpose of love, that we should be adopted as his own children through Jesus Christ—that we might learn to praise that glorious generosity of his which has made us welcome in the everlasting love he bears towards the Son.
It is through the Son, at the cost of his own blood, that we are redeemed, freely forgiven through that full and generous grace which has overflowed into our lives and opened our eyes to the truth.”
Ephesians 1:1-8 (JB Phillips Translation)
You and I are so much like that boat. We are made in our Father’s image. We are created by him. The Divine Nature of the Almighty (DNA) is in us. We are also purchased and adopted legally because of the sacrifice and payment of Jesus.
You and I are twice God’s. We are securely and totally His.
As we allow ourselves to take in and realize the miracle that our life in Christ affords us, we can come to terms with who Jesus says we already are.
The apostle Paul says it this way, “Praise be to God for giving us through Christ every possible spiritual benefit as citizens of Heaven!” (Ephesians 1:3)
My prayer for you in this season and always is that you will surrender your heart to the reality that God is for you – in everything and every time. He has paid the price for everything you need. You don’t need to strive or work for that reality – it is yours.
I pray that you and I will learn to live our lives FROM that reality. Secure in the understanding of who we are as twice purchased sons and daughter of the Creator of the universe.
The Lord says about you: “You are doubly mine…I made you and I bought it with a price.”
Blessings,
Pastor Kristi
One day when he was out at the river, a storm came up unexpectedly. The wind was strong and the waves were wild. As he tried to pull his boat in to shore, the rope broke! His boat floated downstream and he was unable to get to it. After the storm, he searched along the shore upstream and downstream but could not find his boat.
A year or so later, the boat maker was walking in a nearby town. He glanced in the window of a second-hand shop and was shocked to see his boat. He went into the shop for a closer look – there was no mistaking it.
He recognized every detail of that boat because he had made it with his own hands. It was his boat.
He shared with the shop owner how he had made this boat with his own hands and how the boat had been lost. He was so glad to have found it.
The boat owner was impressed by his craftsmanship and his story, but told him, “That’s impressive, but you still have to buy it if you want it.”
So the boat maker raised the money and bought back his boat.
As he left the shop with his boat, he said to it, “Now you are doubly mine! I made you and I purchased you for a price.”
In the book of Ephesians, Paul writes to the church in Ephesus (and to us) to remind us all that this is our story.
“Paul, messenger of Jesus Christ by God’s choice, to all faithful Christians at Ephesus (and other places where this letter is read): grace and peace be to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise God for what he has done for us Christians!
Praise be to God for giving us through Christ every possible spiritual benefit as citizens of Heaven! For consider what he has done—before the foundation of the world he chose us to become, in Christ, his holy and blameless children living within his constant care. He planned, in his purpose of love, that we should be adopted as his own children through Jesus Christ—that we might learn to praise that glorious generosity of his which has made us welcome in the everlasting love he bears towards the Son.
It is through the Son, at the cost of his own blood, that we are redeemed, freely forgiven through that full and generous grace which has overflowed into our lives and opened our eyes to the truth.”
Ephesians 1:1-8 (JB Phillips Translation)
You and I are so much like that boat. We are made in our Father’s image. We are created by him. The Divine Nature of the Almighty (DNA) is in us. We are also purchased and adopted legally because of the sacrifice and payment of Jesus.
You and I are twice God’s. We are securely and totally His.
As we allow ourselves to take in and realize the miracle that our life in Christ affords us, we can come to terms with who Jesus says we already are.
The apostle Paul says it this way, “Praise be to God for giving us through Christ every possible spiritual benefit as citizens of Heaven!” (Ephesians 1:3)
My prayer for you in this season and always is that you will surrender your heart to the reality that God is for you – in everything and every time. He has paid the price for everything you need. You don’t need to strive or work for that reality – it is yours.
I pray that you and I will learn to live our lives FROM that reality. Secure in the understanding of who we are as twice purchased sons and daughter of the Creator of the universe.
The Lord says about you: “You are doubly mine…I made you and I bought it with a price.”
Blessings,
Pastor Kristi
