Meagan Briggs is a freelance writer and editor who lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota. She spent most of her growing-up years in New Zealand, so every now and then, if you catch her talking, you might just detect the undertone of an accent. She blogs about life from the perspective of a Christian, writer, and awkward mortal at www.theemptyinkwell.wordpress.com.
I hadn’t said a word at the Bible study all night. Our subject was what it meant to be an heir of Christ, and I was listening closely from where I sat on the floor in the corner. When I spoke up unexpectedly, everyone turned in my direction as if they’d forgotten I was there.
Now, I’m rarely at ease in a small group, so when everyone’s eyes and ears are on me, I generally get tense and my accent lapses as I trade enunciation for rate of proclamation. Suddenly, halfway through an over-the-speed-limit sentence, I realized I’d pronounced the word heir the same way I had just said the word error in a different context. Thankfully, when I looked around, all the ladies were nodding their heads, understanding me in spite of myself.
Heir and error. How different those words are, and yet how often we can unintentionally interchange them.
Do you see yourself as an heir of Christ? Or as an error of Christ?
I’ve taken a look at myself more than once and prayed, “God, did something happen to the blueprints?” Believing I’m an error is so much easier than believing I’m an heir in a majestic kingdom that will not end.
Error might roll off the tongue easily, but errors are impossible in God’s trade. We may occasionally look like we were assembled with flawed blueprints, but God’s Word assures us that when He looks at us, His chosen children, He sees the righteousness of Jesus—not a pile of mistakes, not a blemish on a previously perfect record, not as an out-of-control project. Righteous. Redeemed. Heirs.
If you see yourself as an error rather than an heir, please hear these words: “Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan” (
Ephesians 1:11
Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God,* for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.
OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
NLT).
Next time you feel like less than an heir apparent, look for the apparent error.
It wasn't until I was nearly done throwing cosmetics in my travel case that something surprising occurred to me. The reflection in the mirror stared back at me, wide-eyed.
A group of ladies and I had been talking for a month about our trip to the women's conference. We planned to take a couple vehicles to the event, which was to be held in a neighboring state. It was less than five hours away, but I'd never been to the city—never been to a women's conference, either—and, not knowing what to expect, I resolved to be prepared for anything.
As the date on the calendar got nearer and nearer, I felt my eagerness for the event dwindle as complications ensued. Funny that back before there were any logistics to overcome, I was excited to get away and finally see my favorite speaker at a live event instead of on DVD.
The night before leaving, my list of things to do was all scribble and scratch. Because I never wish to be unprepared far from home, it's impossible for me to pack lightly. Not surprisingly, I always come home from a trip with band-aids I never used, clothes I never wore, and books I never read.
As I double-checked everything, I realized I was praying for all the unknowns I was trying to control. "Please help everyone to get along. I pray the weather will be good for travel. Please help us not to get lost. Please let that check clear in time."
My phone vibrated with a text. There was yet another tweak to our plans.
I didn't know what to expect anymore, but it appeared this weekend wouldn't shape up to be what I had hoped.
Did I even want to go anymore?
And then I remembered.
I'd signed up to see my favorite Bible teacher, someone I'd wanted to see for years. In a roundabout way, God had changed my life via her studies. And here I was less than 24 hours away from seeing her in person.
But instead of being excited for the purpose of my trip, I was worried about logistics and peripheral hoopla. What I should have thought of as an opportunity, I was considering an obstacle course that I had to endure with a smile. Had I even thought about the speaker at all this past week?
"But the Lord said to her, 'My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details!'" (
Luke 10:41
But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details!
OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt)
NLT)
How often in life this type of thing happens to me and I turn into a worry, fussing Martha! So frequently I forget that life's journey is not a series of potholes and strategies and roadmaps. It's a path toward home where I'll get to finally see the King, the one I've talked about, read about, listened to, and spoken with for so many years. The one who has truly changed the course of my life, both the one here and the life to come.
In the end, the conference went well and I was glad I went. Of course, not everything went according to plan and it wasn't all fun and games, but when I turned my focus to the true purpose of the trip, the hiccups and potholes no longer detracted from the opportunity.
Thanks to the trip, I'm better able to trust God with the logistics of life because I want to keep the bigger purpose in sight. And it's taken a weight off. Maybe I'm finally learning to pack lightly.
