In Him We Have Redemption

After a hit-and-run driver killed her son, Donna Holcomb felt God move in her heart to forgive the driver, Marvin Carter. As the young man left the courtroom, she promised to write to him in prison. “Someone has to start making a difference in his life,” she said. “More than anything, this is about understanding that holding anger or animosity isn’t going to do anything but hurt us.” Her willingness to forgive led to healing for both, so much so that he began addressing his letters to “Mama Donna.”

In our passage today, Paul says that repentance and forgiveness are given freely to us as children of God. In Christ, we have “every spiritual blessing” (v. 3). We are adopted and have become sons and daughters of God, who chose us before the creation of the world and loved us (vv. 4–5). Within this relationship we find lavish, unexpected, and complete forgiveness. No matter how terrible we may feel about our sin, God has the power and desire to forgive us and restore our relationship with Him.

And forgiveness is a part of God’s perfect plan, “the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will” (v. 11). When we put our hope in Christ alone, our lives are transformed for His glory (v. 12).

Notice the words used to describe the security of our relationship with Christ: “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance” (vv. 13–14). Our future is guaranteed. Our relationship with God is secure, based on a deposit and a promise. This transforms our lives into vessels of God’s love for His glory.

Pray with Us

Let's bring before the the Lord in prayer the faculty of Moody Theological Seminary in Chicago. Today, please pray for Brad Baurain, Colette Blakely, Daniel Green, and David Woodall as they lead their students into deeper knowledge of the Bible.

BY Jamie Janosz

Jamie Janosz serves as a content development manager for Moody Bible Institute. She writes monthly devotionals for Today in the Word and has published non-fiction essays with Christianity Today’s Her.meneutics blog. Recently Jamie wrote a book titled When Others Shuddered: Eight Women Who Refused to Give Up (Moody Publishers). Jamie studied theology and writing at Moody Bible Institute, Columbia College, and Illinois State University. She lives on the Atlantic coast of Florida with her husband, Milt, and daughter, Sabrina.