A Double Inheritance

Along with taking up my new post as Pastor at Durrington Free Church, I have come into the occupation of the manse, or pastor's house, next door. There has not been a pastor at the manse for the past 31 years, so it is quite an honour to be here. It is also a most intriguing exercise to find my way round my new surroundings. Within a few weeks I knew most of the ins and outs of the bungalow which was my new home. But getting to know the quite sizeable garden which I have also inherited – now that is a different matter.

Gardens do not reveal themselves all in one go. A succession of plants will be coming up during the next few months, and I have no idea really what variety of plant life is available to me on this patch of land. It will be fascinating to see the plants gradually emerge as the season wears on, and to be able to identify them one by one, or get some plant expert in the congregation to do it for me.

Musing on this the other day I pondered the inheritance we have when we put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour. He is the Elder Brother of our new family. We are adopted into this new family under God and along with the other members of that family we receive an inheritance. This talk of “inheritance” does not mean, of course, that our God is going to write out His last will and testament as though He might die on us. It is simply that we come into ownership of all the blessings and all the riches of our new family in the kingdom where God rules.

It was breathtaking when I first came to see the blessings that are listed in Matthew chapter 5 in the light of our inheritance. Just look at these verses from that point of view:

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
For they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
For they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
For they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Look what's in your inheritance! You inherit the kingdom of heaven; you inherit comfort; you inherit the earth; you inherit fullness, mercy, the chance to look upon God, the status of son or daughter of God. What amazing riches!

We need to be tremendously glad and excited about our prospects as new members of God’s family. If you want to get on in life, this is certainly the family to belong to. And yet we do not join it simply because of what we are going to get out of it. We join it because we come to realise that our God wants us to be his people and He wants to be our God. He desires a relationship with us that is closer than any relationship we can have on Earth. It is a most beautiful thing to be wanted in this way.

And so I look forward to getting to know my garden, unravelling the mystery of what I have come into in this new place. I am delighted to be getting to know my church. It is a great privilege to have come into the pastorate of people who are willing to rise to a challenge and are full of good ideas. May I be a capable manager, under God, of the inheritance that I have received.