The One He Loves
Updated: Dec 3, 2021
Friday - December 3rd
Scripture to Read Today: Ephesians 1:1-10
To the praise of his glorious grace,
which he has freely given us in
the One He loves.
Ephesians 1:6
Last weekend while watching a college football game, I saw something I had not seen in several years. While one team was kicking a field goal, someone held up a large banner that simply said, "John 3:16." Twenty years ago, a sign like that would be seen in the endzones of most college and professional football games. Today, many football venues no longer allow such large banners or signs - no matter what they say.
I have known a few people who came to Christ after seeing such a sign. For example, thirty years ago, I knew one man who had been an NFL player and had hit rock bottom in life. After seeing an endzone banner, he sought out John 3:16 in a hotel room Bible and came to Jesus as Savior. His life changed forever!
Whether or not they saw a John 3:16 sign at a football game, many have come to Christ because of the clarity of that verse. The verse quotes Jesus saying, "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." God gave "His one and only son." What a gift!
Ephesians 1:1-10 expands on the simplicity of the gracious gift God has given us in Christ. It describes God's wonderful redemptive plan, laid out before the foundation of the world. It describes this remarkable privilege of being in Christ. My favorite statement in these first ten verses of the Book of Ephesians is found in verse six: "To the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One He loves."
"The One He loves," says so much. That "One" is Jesus. The grace God has shown us, He gave us freely in Christ. The God of the universe "gave His one and only Son" (John 3:16) - "the One He loves" (Ephesians 1:6). His gift to us is a remarkable, extraordinary, and unbelievable gift!
Today, thank God for sending His One and only Son, the Son He loves dearly, as His gift to you!