Ephesians 1: 3 “Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly
realm has already been lavished upon us as a love gift from our wonderful
heavenly Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus – all because he sees us wrapped
into Christ. This is why we celebrate
him with all our hearts!
And he chose us to be his very own, joining us to himself
even before he laid the foundation of the universe! Because of his great love,
he ordained us so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with an unstained
innocence.
For it was always in his perfect plan to adopt us as his
delightful children, through our union with Jesus, the Anointed One, so that
his tremendous love that cascades over us would glorify his grace – for the
same love he has for his beloved one, Jesus, he has for us. And this unfolding plan brings him great
pleasure….”
He sees us wrapped into Christ. Think of that truth the next time you wrap gifts. I am wrapped into Jesus, sharing
his relationship with the Father, sharing his gifts, reaping the benefits of
his relationship with his Daddy, who is now my Daddy. So now I am Taffy in Christ, never just
Taffy. When Father God looks at me, he
sees me in Jesus. No wonder Theresa Dedmon painted a smiling Jesus. When God looks at his kids, he’s always
smiling, because he sees us wrapped into Jesus, and Jesus always makes him
smile.
If you’re not smiling when you look at yourself in the
mirror, you may not be wearing the right lenses. Father God says
he sees us wrapped into Christ. If
that’s not who you see, then who do you suppose needs new lenses?
For it was always in his perfect plan to adopt us as his
delightful children. It was his plan
when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden.
It was his plan when he led the Israelites out of Egypt. And it was his plan when he sent an angel to
young Mary and told her the plans he had for her to bear the Christ child. And Mary, drawn to the heart of God, obeyed
and accepted her role in God’s plan. She
brought forth a son, named him Jesus, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes.
One morning as I was praying for my kids, my adult kids, God
reminded me of “swaddling”. I was taught
by the nurses in the hospital in 1976 when my son, Jimmy was born, to lay him
on a receiving blanket and fold it tightly around him. It will comfort him, they told me, just as he
was swaddled so tightly in my womb those last new weeks of pregnancy, so the
tight blankets will actually soothe him.
I saw Father God take my adult son, Jimmy, wrap him up like a little
papoose and put him over his shoulder. "It’s ok", he told me, "I’ve got him".
"Will you hold me, too?", I asked, so he wrapped me up, too, and held me
on his other shoulder for awhile. Then
it was time to go off to work. I was in peace as I left my adult son, all wrapped up in
Christ, with Father God as I went about my day.
It’s a good thing to remember at Christmas, and every day in between,
that he sees us wrapped into Christ. And we never have to take off the blanket,
take off the wrapping. It’s permanent now.
I’m forever wrapped into Jesus!
