Ephesians 1:14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession-to the praise of his glory.

I can remember buying my first stereo record player unit, which shows you how old I am. I was really excited about it, but it cost sixty dollars. I was in Senior High at the time and only earned about $1.50 per week working on an ice-cream truck. I couldn’t afford to purchase the stereo outright, but I had enough to make the first down payment. What I needed most was my father to act as my guarantor, so that I could buy it on credit.

It took a great deal of discussion and persuasion. My Dad lectured me on the personal responsibility he was taking on my behalf. He would be held accountable if I didn’t make the payments. He would have to pay back anything that I owed. All I could think about was having the stereo unit. The rest would take care of itself.

It took me a whole year to pay off what I owed. My Dad was relentless and wouldn’t let me miss a payment. I had no money to buy records, but my friends came to my house with theirs. They bought the albums and played them on my stereo. It was a good arrangement and a great lesson. My father taught me the importance of being accountable and taking my responsibilities seriously. If he hadn’t been willing to make the guarantee, I could never have owned the stereo, nor would I have learned such an important life-style lesson.

As Christians, we are given the Holy Spirit as both the deposit and guarantee for the life to come. There’s nothing that we can do to earn salvation outright. We could never pay back to God the debts that we owe Him. But when we give our hearts to Jesus, the Holy Spirit is deposited within us, so that when Christ returns in all His glory, we can be redeemed, we can be purchased, we can be restored to God and given eternal life. Without Christ making that purchase with His blood, without the Holy Spirit being our guarantee, we could never enter into the everlasting holiness of God’s presence. But with Christ, all our debts to sin are paid, and we are guaranteed salvation through Him, not just for this life, but for the real life that we have yet to experience beyond death.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we want to live forever. We don’t want death to have the final answer. We want to enjoy living with You, loving our loved ones, and worshiping You always. We give our hearts to You, Jesus, and we pray that You will bless us with the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, so that one precious day, You may come to us and redeem us forever. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart traqair@aol.com
Knoxville, Tennessee, USA