Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his.” (2 Tim. 2:19)
I once worked as a security guard at a manufacturing plant for Mack Trucks. One of my jobs was to sit at the gate, process tractor trailers coming and going, and check the seals on their back doors. One night, I noticed that the seal on one of the trailers had a number that was not listed on my papers. When I mentioned this to the driver, he got angry and agitated, telling me to mind my own business and let him go through. This was obviously a suspicious response, so I called the foreman on duty. The seal was then broken, the doors unlatched. We discovered eight very expensive transmissions inside what was supposed to be an empty trailer.
Seals have been around for a long time. Since antiquity, they ensured the secure transfer of information, and usually had an inscription that identified the authenticity of the contents and its owner.
Scripture has told us that we have been so sealed against any tampering from the enemies of God (see Rev. 7:1–8). We have our assurance in that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit (see Eph. 1:13), built on a foundation, and can say “we belong to God!” But it is also true that if we are given the title of God’s own, we must live according to its character. The inscription on the seal must match the contents inside.
Live up to what you are sealed to be.
Rich Eckley is professor of theology at Houghton College and serves on the Women in Ministry Task Force for The Wesleyan Church.
© 2019 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
