It’s like getting Christmas gifts early

The Christian life is like getting part of your Christmas gift early—really early. In Ephesians 1, Paul says that when we believed in Jesus, we “were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it…” (v. 13-14). The word for “guarantee” denotes a down payment, a partial payment of a larger sum still to be paid.
This would mean that the Holy Spirit whom we receive by believing in Jesus is part of the big gift that is to come. The Holy Spirit is part of God’s big end-of-the-age gift that has been given to us way ahead of that awesome event!
This is why I liken the Christian life to getting part of your Christmas gift early.You, believer in Jesus, have the end-of-the-age with you. You, dear brother and sister in the Lord, have God’s kingdom with you. Heaven is not merely a place that awaits you after the curtain closes on your present life.
Heaven has, in fact, come forward to meet you in the present.
Can you see how staggering the implications of this are? For one, having the Holy Spirit as “the guarantee of our inheritance” would mean that you do not have to fear the end when it comes. When the Day of Judgment comes, you will stand before your Lord Jesus unafraid because you have his Spirit.
Second, you are free to know contentment. If you have the Holy Spirit, you are free to relax on the hamster wheel of life. Although you still have a job to do and bills to pay, your soul does not have to get mired in the mud! That complaint from the dissatisfied customer will not end you. That negative evaluation from your supervisor will not sever your roots in God’s approval. That letter of rejection is no indicator of how God, the ultimate authority, sees you.
That criminal record does not change God’s declaration that you are forever forgiven, righteous, and loved in Jesus Christ! While we never get off the hamster wheel entirely until the end, there is a sense that we are free to “check out.” Our sense of who we are as persons is no more tied to our efforts and accomplishments or the judgments of others.

We belong to the Father who loves us. Our destinies are hidden in Jesus Christ who is enthroned at his Father’s right hand (Col. 3:1). We can actually rest, confident that Christ has given us his Spirit as “the guarantee of our inheritance.”
Third, you are free to serve others. Now that the Holy Spirit has been given to you, you no longer have to be preoccupied with yourself—redeeming yourself, pleasing yourself, marketing yourself, or glorifying yourself.
You can pay more attention to those loved ones who need your care. You are free to give more energy and time to them because you know God has your back and will take care of everything.
So, now that Christmas has come early, or more to the point, now that the new age of God’s peace has dawned on you, you are free.
Free to not fear the future. Free to be contented. Free to seek the good of others.
By believing in Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit as “the guarantee” of your eternal inheritance and “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17).
Rev. Christopher Seah is the pastor at Faith Presbyterian Church in Perryville as well as Brazeau Presbyterian Church. He can be reached by email at seah_christopher@yahoo.com