"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:13-14)

Last summer, we tried canning for the first time. We had an abundant tomato harvest so naturally we wanted to preserve as much as we could. The process was simple enough—sterilizing the jars, blanching the tomatoes, and boiling the jars to remove air and seal them. Now we have a shelf full of canned tomatoes that will last a very long time.

Something similar happens when we receive the gospel message. We are marked, sealed, and preserved by God. He puts both His mark of ownership on us and “seals” us through the promised Holy Spirit to preserve us for the day of redemption.

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”
1 Peter 2:24

Seven years ago, I was in a terrible bicycle accident that left my face ruined by road rash. My chin was split open, I had a black eye, and the skin on my shoulder was shaved off. I was black and blue from head to toe but fortunate in that I had not broken any bones in my face.

I was laid up that following week and couldn’t work. I remember each time I looked in the mirror, I would thank God for healing my face even though at the time it was still in bad shape. I was trusting God to heal me because there was nothing anyone could do for the damaged skin.

This took a lot of faith to trust and speak those words over to myself in the midst of the situation because I looked the opposite of what I was thanking God for.