You Are God’s Inheritance
by Gloria Copeland
When you think about giving to the Lord, what’s generally the first thing that comes to mind? Do you automatically think about finances? About giving or sowing your tithes and putting money in the offering at church?
If the answer is yes, you’re in good company. Most of us, as believers, it seems, tend to think about giving almost exclusively in financial terms. The Lord, however, does not. While He appreciates us giving to Him of our finances and tells us in the Scriptures to do so, there’s also something else He wants us to give Him. Something that’s even more important.
He wants us to give Him ourselves.
He wants our whole hearts and total obedience.
He wants us to give Him our all.
That’s the biggest, best offering we can ever bring Him. Plus, it’s His due!
He bought and paid for us, spirit, soul and body. He shed His precious blood to purchase us and make us His own. As James 1:18 says, “Of his own will begat he us…that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”
Notice God didn’t just beget us so that we can bring Him our firstfruits, but so that we can be His firstfruits. In other words, we’re like the tithe. We’re holy and set apart for Him and His purposes.
We don’t belong to the world.
We don’t belong to the devil.
We don’t even belong to ourselves.
We belong to God.
We’re His “inheritance.”
As the Apostle Paul put it in his letter to the Ephesians, we are “saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom [we] also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:19-22, "New King James Version").
Talk about special! God not only calls us His “saints” (holy or separated ones), He considers us to be so precious He’s chosen the Church to be His dwelling place. He’s committed Himself to building her up into a holy temple He can fill with His glory…and He’s been working on that building program for more than 2,000 years.
26 : BVOV
