Spiritual blessings are inseparably connected with Christ as declared in the opening paragraph of Ephesians: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing … in Christ” (1:3).
This being true, it is imperative that each of us has a vital connection with Christ to be able to experience these blessings.
The Bible offers a variety of images about this spiritual connection. It is like being grafted as an alien branch into the True Vine (Rom. 11:17).
It is like being adopted into God’s family, becoming a legitimate child of God by being taken out of a dysfunctional spiritual family that belongs to its father, the devil, and placed into God’s forever family (Gal. 4:4–5).
It is like answering a knock on a door and opening it to admit Christ into our lives (Rev. 3:20).
‘Holy visitor’
Let’s think about this holy visitor who knocks on the door of human hearts. He is the eternal Son of God who became the incarnate Son of Man. Being found in fashion as a man, He then became the crucified Savior of the world.
Blessed be our God and Father! His only begotten Son did not stay dead. He arose on the third day and now reigns as the risen Sovereign of all.
This magnificent Savior seeks entry into human hearts. We often refer to the occasion of His admission into our hearts as conversion. It is the beginning of the promised eternal life God bestows on those who repent and trust Him as Savior.
God has provided the Savior; we must respond to that provision. According to Revelation 3:20 two things are essential to that response: We must hear His voice, and we must open our hearts to Him.
Indispensable act
We can say several things about opening our hearts to the Savior. It is a definite act or a willful choice we make. It is a unique act we only do once in our lifetime because He will never leave or forsake us. It is an individual act no one can do for us. It is an indispensable act as there is no other way to become a Christian.
Many a child in Sunday School learned the little chorus:
“Into my heart, into my heart / Come into my heart, Lord Jesus / Come in today, come in to stay / Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.”
None of us will ever pray a more important prayer than this simple one that launches the Christian life.
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