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In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God\\u2019s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment\\u2014to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. (Ephesians 1:7-10)

We\\u2019ll take two verbs today, because the next one we find is nearly a synonym of the last. \\xa0It\\u2019s the word lavished, and it simply goes on to drench us again in the grace of God as if we didn\\u2019t catch enough of it the first time round. \\xa0We have redemption through the blood of Christ and the forgiveness of sins according to this same graciousness of God\\u2014the riches of God\\u2019s grace that he lavished on us. \\xa0

Again and again we are reminded\\u2014all that we have and all that we are in Christ is a good and gracious gift of God that spills and flows over lavishly out of the richness of His grace. \\xa0You might hear David in the 23rd Psalm recounting again how His cup overflows because of the goodness and love of the Lord that continues to follow him all the days of his life. \\xa0God is gracious, and these verbs begin to fill that title with meaning as we witness the endless depths of His good gifts and His lavish giving. \\xa0Praise be to God.\\xa0

The second verb we\\u2019ll catch today is a pair of words: \\u201cmade known.\\u201d \\xa0\\u201cWith all wisdom and understanding, God made known to us the mystery of His will.\\u201d \\xa0This kind of knowing is not an encyclopedic piece of knowledge to be looked up, or a test answer to be crammed in, recited, and forgotten\\u2014it\\u2019s the sort of knowing that only happens in a relationship. \\xa0It is a true and deep sort of knowing that permeates our heart and mind, that gets into our bones and transforms who we are and the way that we live. \\xa0

Because God has chosen us and destined us to be his very own daughters and sons, we get in on what God is up to. \\xa0Jesus called His disciples friends because everything He had learned from His Father, He had made known to them. \\xa0They had followed Him, walked with Him, ate with Him, saw what He did and how He did it. \\xa0They came to know Jesus, and through knowing Him, they came to imitate and become like Him. \\xa0Through Jesus making himself known to them in this way of relationship, they were transformed. \\xa0

The mystery of God\\u2019s will isn\\u2019t an answer that we can jot down, it\\u2019s a way that we walk in. \\xa0The way of wisdom. \\xa0The way of Jesus. \\xa0The way that transforms us more fully into the daughters and sons of the Most High God that we are, because we go to work with Him every day. \\xa0We see what He does: actions like giving grace and reconciling all things. \\xa0We see how He does it\\u2014lavishly. \\xa0

God brings our story into His own as He adopts us. \\xa0We watch Him, and then we try it out: loving others as we\\u2019ve been loved, forgiving others as we\\u2019ve been forgiven, giving to others in generous ways just as we\\u2019ve received. \\xa0Eventually through this practice of imitating the Father who has made himself known to us, we become like Him. \\xa0

God has made known His ways and will to us through our relationship with Christ. \\xa0Through that relationship, we are transformed.\\xa0

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