Ephesians 1:4 is a very encouraging verse to me. It says, “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” The good news is that God didn’t choose us to work hard to become holy and blameless, as if that is possible. Instead He had a plan before the creation of the world. God had a plan for us to come to know His Son Jesus as our personal Savior so that we could, through Him be seen as holy and blameless. If you are a believer, God sees His Son’s work in you.

In the fictional book, The Watson’s Go to Birmingham – 1963, ten year old Kenny finds himself the brundt of many jokes and fists. He gets picked on constantly. He is an easy mark for the bullies of the school. He reads at an advanced level that is so impressive the teachers send him to read to the children two grades ahead as an example of how they should be reading. He has a lazy eye, so he will stand next to someone and look at them sideways. Poor Kenny just can’t get a break until Rufus arrives. Rufus, being from Arkansas doesn’t know the ways of the kids in Michigan. He shows up with polite manners and a “Hi Y’all!!!”. His accent and manners added to the fact he only owns two pairs of pants and two shirts make him an easy mark. Kenny begins to see Rufus as his “personal saver” since now the bullies’ energies have moved elsewhere. 

The opposite is true for us with Jesus. From the point of our salvation, all of his perfectness has been placed on us. When God the Father looks at us He doesn’t see our weak attempts at good deeds, He sees His Son’s holy and blameless nature. God sees us as belonging to Him. Jesus is the only way that we will be acceptable to God the Father. He is the only way we can be holy and blameless. Paul is writing here about God choosing us for salvation which involves both the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and our belief in the truth of Jesus being the Christ. Holiness is necessary for salvation and it comes only through knowing Christ as your Savior and Lord. If you would like more information about accepting Jesus go to www.peacewithgod.jesus.net .