Before you were a Christian, you were alienated and an enemy of God because of sin. Now you have been reconciled to God through the sacrifice of Jesus. Colossians 1:21-22 “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.” Instead of being an enemy of God, He adopted you as His son or daughter. Galatians 4:4-7 “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” Romans 8:15-17 “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”
What a wonderful relation you now have with God as His adopted child! You can cry “Abba, Father” to God. Abba is an Aramaic word that a small child might speak to his parent who he loves and in whom he has complete trust and dependence. The word Father implies the relationship of one who begat you, one who you honor and obey, and one who gives you your inheritance. Since you have been adopted as a child of God, you are now an heir of God and a joint heir with your elder brother, Jesus Christ. You have an inheritance reserved in heaven for you. 1 Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” Your inheritance from God is just waiting for you. It is incorruptible and undefiled in that it will not decay, rust, be contaminated or diminish in value. God is protecting it and has reserved it for you in heaven.
I don’t fully comprehend what our inheritance is. This lack of comprehension is similar to that expressed by John in 1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” Our inheritance will be fully revealed to us later on. However, we know some things about our inheritance. In speaking about the judgement day, Jesus described our inheritance as a kingdom that we inherit from the King. Matthew 25:34 “Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” In order to understand our inheritance better, we are told that it will be rich and glorious. Ephesians 1:18 “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” You should expect the inheritance to be something very special since you are inheriting from your Father God, the creator of all things.
As you continue your life here on earth, be careful that you do not sell your right to your inheritance, as Esau did. Hebrews 12:15-17 “Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.” You do not want to come to the Judgement Day and realize that the way you lived your life resulted in you giving up your right to your inheritance. You have to overcome in this life in order to receive your inheritance. Revelation 21:7-8 “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” You must be diligent along with having faith and patience. Hebrews 6:11-12 “And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
Praise and thank God for adopting you as His child. He loved the world so much that He sent Jesus to die so that we could become His sons and daughters. Praise and thank God for giving you a rich and glorious inheritance. Colossians 1:12 “Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.” Be assured that God will give you the inheritance that He has promised. Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:12 “For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.”