My Inheritance
by Richard Griffiths
You get your inheritance when the person, from whom you will inherit, dies. Until then, anything might happen to it. All the money might be spent; or the valuable pictures could be destroyed in a fire; or burglars might break in and take the lot; or the person from whom you expect to inherit might change their mind and disinherit you; or you might die before they do. However big or small it is, you might not get it. Who knows what might happen?
As followers of Jesus, we have an inheritance to which none of these things can happen. Not only can it never perish, spoil or fade, but (as Peter goes on to say) it is kept ‘under lock and key’ in the safest of all safe places, in heaven – in the very presence of God. And, on top of that, we are shielded by God’s power until the time comes for us to get it – when we die. Our inheritance is safe and so are we!
But – and this is absolutely brilliant! – we can start getting it right here and right now. Why? Because we receive our inheritance from Jesus, and He has already died. He died in our place. He died our death.
In Ephesians 1:13-14 Paul writes: When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. The Holy Spirit is the ‘first instalment’ of our inheritance.
When you pay a deposit for something, the deposit is, like the final payment, cash. In the same way, when we receive the Holy Spirit, we get ‘a foretaste’ of heaven. An old Puritan writer once wrote a book about the Holy Spirit. He called it Heaven on Earth – spot on!
Peter wrote his letter to Christians who were going through some very hard times. He is reminding them that nothing they are going through can rob them of their inheritance. What’s more, The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory (Romans 8:16-17). What’s more, we enjoy an intimacy with God that is a foretaste of glory. What an inheritance!
Richard Griffiths When Richard retired from full-time Anglican ministry in Chichester in 2009, he and his wife, Sue, moved to Northumberland. He joined the ministry team at Ellel Grange in 2011, where he and Sue regularly ministered at healing retreats. They are now helping on the "Explore" team. They greatly enjoy walking in the beautiful Northumberland countryside and along the coast. Richard loves seeing God bringing people into a strong personal relationship with Him as their Father and the healing that comes with it.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
