He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Romans 8:32
Before the civil war in the United States, a wealthy businessman from Boston was visiting some of his business contacts in Virginia. While he was there, he became acquainted with a slave who belonged to the owner of large cotton interests in that state. The Bostonian felt sorry for the slave, a large and gentle man who had suffered a great deal of abuse at his master’s hands. The slave confided in him that his children were to be sold and he feared he would never see them again. The man from Boston made arrangements to buy the slave and his entire family, and took them to his home in Boston. After granting all the family members their freedom, the businessman provided a modest house for them to live in, and hired the man as an employee in his business. He maintained a close relationship with the family, and provided them with many gifts, encouraging the children to become well educated. His kindness to the former slave family is like God’s kindness to us after we are saved.
We appreciate the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross, recognizing that His work has provided for our deliverance from the punishment for our sins, and for the guarantee of a home in Heaven forever. But our text reminds us that our Saviour’s work on the cross has given us so much more than that. In fact, we are unable to calculate today the extent of the meaning of the term ‘all things’. While our rescue from hell and our guarantee of Heaven is wonderful, we do well to consider that God has so much more for us to appreciate and enjoy, all provided to us through the value of the work of His Son. Let’s consider a few of the blessings that are ours in Christ.
The presence of the Holy Spirit with every believer is all important to us. Not only does He guarantee our identification as a child of God, but He guards, guides, and encourages us in our Christian life. The Word of God, with the Holy Spirit to guide us, is an essential resource that God has given us, to feed our souls and to build up our knowledge of God and His purposes. The company of God’s people is also a critical resource that provides us with companionship, fellowship, and a wonderful precursor to our grand reunion in the Glory. Prayer and meditation, once powerless and vague in our unsaved days, now provide us with a perpetual link with our Heavenly Father. As Christians, we are given real purpose in life, meaningful direction that has eternal consequences. As Christians, we stand out in Heaven’s eyes as the truly important people on the planet, the ones who are the apple of our Father’s eye.
No list of all things that God has given us as His own could ever be complete. Try adding to the list some of the things that God has given you to appreciate. -Jim MacIntosh