74. The grace yet to be given.

'Set your hope fully on the grace to given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.' ( 1 Peter 1:13) Scriptures not only speaks about the grace that was given when we received Christ as our Saviour, but it also speaks of a grace to be given when Christ is revealed. What is that grace for? The transformation of our physical bodies into spiritual bodies! 'If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body ... The spiritual did not come first, but the natural and after that the spiritual ... I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God ... I tell you a mystery ... we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.' (1 Corinthians 15:44-52) Therefore 'we eagerly await a Saviour from heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.' (Philippians 3:20-21) Do we have the assurance in our hearts that we will receive this transforming grace of God? If we haven't experienced yet the grace that transforms our lives, how can we expect to receive the grace that will transform our bodies? The Holy Spirit is the deposit that guarantees us of the things to come. 'And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession.' (Ephesians 1:13) Receive Christ as your Saviour, if you haven't yet, and the Holy Spirit will transform both your life and body. 'And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.' ( Romans 8:11) Amen.