Sealed by God

The writers group I belong to has a “seal” we use to impress our name on documents such as certificates for contest winners. Personally, I’ve a small wax candle and gold stamp with my initial. I seldom use it, but the idea is to impress my initial on a blob of wax as a seal.

Seals were used in ancient times to mark ownership and to verify that a document had not been opened. Although not required (at least in Canada) by corporations, most still use seals as a mark of their identity.

Today’s reading: “After these things I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, on the sea, or on any tree. Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” (Revelation 7:1-3, NKJV)

In context, I’m not sure who the servants refer to, nor what the seals signify other than ownership, but this brings to mind another verse: “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14)

Those who trust Christ and believe the gospel are sealed by God with the Holy Spirit. He marks us as God’s people. This seal protects that relationship until we step into eternity and our redemption is complete.

People without faith often think such a thing would give Christians licence to do whatever we want. After all, the seal is there to guarantee our final inheritance, so why behave? While their argument seems logical, it is without experiential understanding of what it means to be sealed into the family of God.

When God forgave my sin and gave me His Spirit, He changed my life. Motives, goals, attitudes, desires, all started to shift. I didn’t want to do my own thing any more; I wanted to please God. When He put His seal in me, He sealed that new life, those new attitudes. They are here to stay, forever. The old stuff, such as selfishness, me-first, etc. is being booted out and when my redemption is complete, it will be all gone.

Salvation isn’t fire insurance, nor a licence to sin. It is entry into eternal life and even though I’m sealed for eternity, that life started the moment I first believed. Because all this is true, threats like terrorists who tie much of the world into frightened little knots are not having the same effect on me. I know where we I am going and who controls my death and my life.

I don’t have a blob of wax or an imprint as a visible impression of God’s ownership. Instead, I am supposed to show it by my love for other believers. And that’s a whole new topic!