Of August Lineage

Recently, my sons and I were talking about the timeline for heavenly events. My boys, 11 and (just today) 7, have grown up in church and so it's not unusual for us to talk about the Bible, the Lord, or even things complicated like prophecy. Revelations is an especially interesting topic to my eldest son Daniel. He's fascinated with events leading up to the rapture and what happens afterward. And the great thing is, I'm fascinated with that timeline as well! :)

So when Daniel asked me about how things will work during the tribulation and the thousand year reign, I was excited. He always tends to ask me difficult questions while we're driving and I can't dig my pocket-sized Bible out of my purse (it comes in handy when I'm not driving! lol).

I always get excited to talk about the calling up of believers, the millennial reign, and New Jerusalem. The fact that I have been adopted into the family of the most Righteous on High (Eph. 1:5) never gets old, because by my own merit I'm not worthy of heaven.

Ephesians 2:8 tells me "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." [Emphasis mine] There's nothing on this earth that I could do to earn God's gift. That verse specifically says that salvation IS A GIFT! The Merriam-Webster online dictionary's definition (specifically the second one) of "gift" is:

something voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation

God doesn't require us to pay Him back for that gift of salvation. He doesn't offer salvation expecting something from us in return. He gives salvation simply because he WANTS us to have it. God created man so that He might have a relationship with him. He wants to have fellowship with His creation. Even when Adam and Eve sinned and men and women continually showed God that they were sinful and at times unlovable, God didn't give up on His creation. He sent Jesus to the earth to be "the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2) Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, when He was rejected by His very own lineage, allowed the Gentiles to be adopted as part of the heavenly, the august, heritage.

I'm so glad I'm part of the family of God!!

(Fast-forward to 1:40 for the song :P)
From the door of an orphanage to the house of the King,
No longer an outcast, a new song I sing;
From rags unto riches, from the weak to the strong,
I'm not worthy to be here, but praise God I belong!

I'm so glad I'm a part of the Family of God,
I've been washed in the fountain, cleansed by His Blood!
Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod,
For I'm part of the family,
The Family of God