Heavenly vs. Earthly

Saturday - January 8th

Scripture to Read Today: Ephesians 1:1-3

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Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Ephesians 1:3

Lesli and I love to watch football. Her family watched NFL games on Sundays during her childhood. With family roots in Pittsburgh, Lesli is an avid Steelers fan. Growing up in the South Bend, Indiana area shaped me into a college football fan - therefore, a Saturday football watcher. Of course, I am a huge fan of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. When Lesli and I got married, we merged our interests and now enjoy watching football on Saturdays and Sundays.

We got to watch a couple of college bowl games during the holidays these last few weeks. Our daughter, Katie, and I attended Notre Dame's disappointing loss to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Day. Of course, the NFL is entering the final week of the regular season, with the playoffs right around the corner.

This is the season when both college and professional winning players celebrate crucial victories. Often when the broadcast reporter on the field interviews a winning player, the elated player says how "blessed" they are. They may even pause at the start of their interview to make the point that God has blessed them with the win. We are all familiar with the "First, I must say how blessed I am" response of winning athletes.

We never see a reporter on the field interview a losing player after the game who celebrates how blessed they are. Most of us think of blessings in terms of life's victories, not setbacks. As followers of Christ, we can easily get swept up in the belief that our best blessings are earthly wins - the good things we get here and now. Jesus and the writers of the New Testament want us to see our blessings differently.

Whether or not our earthly circumstances seem to be victorious, Christ's followers are blessed. Our earthly ups and downs come and go. But, Ephesians 1:3 says we are blessed "in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." No matter our circumstances here on earth, our eternal standing before God and our heavenly blessings never change. God has forgiven us. Our ultimate home is in heaven with God forever. God walks with us in life today. We are blessed!

Let's focus on our unchangeable blessings in heaven as we experience life here on earth!