In today’s first reading, Ephesians 1: 1-10, St. Paul
praises God as follows: ”Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the
heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy
and without blemish before him.”
To understand the impact of this statement, we might think
of something that we have created or purchased to serve us in a particular
need. We possess that purchase or
created object. It is to meet our need, to fulfill our purpose. It exists for no other reason. The object is ours, no
one else’s possession. God created us for His purpose, not for our own purpose or for the purpose others
dream up for us. We are God’s, “blessed
in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as [God] chose us in
[God], before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before
him.”
We have been created to live a life of holiness, to
accomplish the good for which we have been created. In living according to God’s
design, we will receive, in abundance, “the fruit of the Spirit,” which is “love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, [and]
self-control” (See: Galatians 5: 18-25).
The other choice, living according to the flesh, leads to the following
consequences: “immorality, impurity, licentiousness,
idolatry, sorcery, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies,
and the like” (See Galatians 5: 18-25).
Which way of life have I chosen? Whose purpose am I
fulfilling?
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