Belong: INheritance
A few weeks ago I read a news article about Marlene Engelhorn, an Austrian heiress to a large fortune, who announced her plan to give away a great portion of her inheritance. Here is an excerpt from the BBC article:
“An Austro-German heiress is setting up a citizens group to decide how she should give away much of the fortune she inherited from her grandmother. Marlene Engelhorn, who is 31 and lives in Vienna, wants 50 Austrians to determine how €25m (£21.5m) of her inheritance should be redistributed.” (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67935463)
€25 million is a life changing amount of money for most people. That is more than most people could dream of earning in a lifetime. Such a sum would easily set up any person for a comfortable life. So what would drive Marlene to give away such a large inheritance? I found answer both simple and profound, “I have inherited a fortune, and therefore power, without having done anything for it.”
Marline hit the nail on the head. Receiving an inheritance means receiving fortune and wealth that you did nothing to earn. Someone else put in the work, made the investments, managed the funds, and then died, so that heirs could receive the fruits of their labor.
In Ephesians 1 verses 9-14, Paul used the image of an inheritance describing our profound relationship with God through Jesus. He said in verse 11,
“…because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.”
Let’s take a moment to break down Paul’s words.
First, Paul says that we are “united with Christ.” Christ Jesus is the Son of God. He’s the rightful heir to all of God’s goodness, love, and grace. Like Marlene, Jesus chooses what to do with this inheritance.
Being united with Christ Jesus means that we align our lives with him. It means that we put Jesus first, following his teaching and commands and believing that he died and rose again to forgive us our sins and unite us in a relationship with God.
Second, when we are united with Christ, “we have received and inheritance from God.” In scripture God often describes his people as, “His inheritance” (Deuteronomy 32:9, Psalm 33:12). It means that God chooses people to receive his goodness, love, and grace. When we are united with Christ, we receive an incredible inheritance from God.
Third, when we unite with Christ, we receive God’s inheritance, and God, “makes everything work out according to his plan.” God has a good plan for each of us to live, flourish, and be a blessing to others as he intends. When we walk with Jesus, we become part of God’s plan to know him, and share his love with those around us.
In Christ, we have an inheritance greater than €25 million, because Jesus freely gave us God’s inheritance when he disinherited himself on the cross. He exchanged his glory for our hurt, pain, and wrong doing, dying in our place so that we might receive all God’s goodness, love, and grace.
Have you received an inheritance from God?
Join us for small groups this Sunday to learn more about how we can belong to God!
