You’re Mine

You’re Mine

You also have heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us everything he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. –Ephesians 1:13-14

My husband has given me many nice gifts, but one of the first gifts he gave me was also one of the best. It wasn’t expensive or fancy, and I’m still not sure what made him think of it or how he did it. But to me it is precious.

Our marriage was the product of an office romance. I worked in book publishing, and he was just down the hall in print music publishing. One day we were both at the same restaurant having lunch with colleagues when Ken Barker said to David, “You need to meet that Nancy Jinks. She sings.” Exactly one year after that day we were married.

And I’ll never forget returning from our honeymoon and heading back to the office—together. On my desk was a sign with my new name, Nancy Guthrie, a gift from my new husband. To me, it was his way of saying, “Things have changed. You are mine. I want everyone to identify you with me.” It was not only a reminder of who I belong to, but of his promises to me as my husband.

When you accepted God’s offer of himself, he gave you a gift to serve as a seal of his promises, to identify you as his. He gave you the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit within you reveals not only his ownership but also your security as his child.

When troubles come, it’s easy to wonder if something has happened to our secure place in God’s family. But if we listen, we will hear God’s Spirit within us whisper, “You are mine. I bought you with a price, and you are precious to me. No one and nothing can snatch you from my hand” (see Psalm 116:15; John 10:28; and 1 Corinthians 6:20). Rather than lingering far away, God comes near, even inside us, reminding us that we are his.

Holy Spirit, gift of God, what a beautiful sign and seal you are. You bind me forever to my Savior and Lord; you remind me of his promises, and you identify me as his own. May I never bring sorrow to you by the way I live.

DIGGING DEEPER