Today’s passage from Ephesians opens with an incredible declaration: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." Notice the tense – it doesn't say He will bless us, but He has already blessed us. This is not a future promise, but a present reality for those who are in Christ. It means that before we even think of asking, God has already poured out His complete spiritual favor on us through His Son.
What are these "every spiritual blessing"? The text tells us clearly: we were chosen in Him before the world began, predestined for adoption as His children, made holy and blameless, and in Christ, we have our full redemption through His blood. Our trespasses are forgiven, not because of anything we did or could ever do, but "according to the riches of his grace." This truth should transform how we see our relationship with God and ourselves.
When we truly grasp this, it changes how we approach our faith. If God has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing, if our adoption and forgiveness are already secured by His grace and Christ’s sacrifice, then what are we striving for? Are we trying to earn more favor by prolonged fasting to change His mind, or by purchasing special items that we believe carry an extra anointing, or by sowing money seeds to reap a specific miracle? These practices, when viewed as ways to compel God, often insinuate that Christ’s work on the cross wasn't quite enough, or that God’s grace isn't truly free. But Ephesians reminds us that His grace is already so rich, so complete.
Living in Kampala, with all its challenges and aspirations, it’s easy to feel the pressure to perform, to strive for more. But our passage calls us to a different kind of life—a life of resting in what has already been given. We are not working to earn God’s love or blessings; we are working from His love and out of the blessings already freely granted. Our position as children of God, redeemed and forgiven, is a gift, not a transaction. This truth liberates us to serve Him not out of a desperate need to gain, but out of grateful adoration for all He has already done.