May14, 2025
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you 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—to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:3-14 NIV)
The book of Ephesians is very precious to me and is part of the core of my understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This morning, I was pondering the verses quoted above in a time of mediation and prayer. I asked that God our Father, give me a picture to help me understand these scriptures. As I waited in silence I saw a picture of the inside of the cab of a large truck. There was a man sitting in the driver’s seat operating the truck and there was a young boy standing beside the driver on his right side. The boy had his left arm on the right shoulder of the truck driver and was turned toward the driver looking up into his face. I somehow knew that the truck driver was the father of the young boy.
As I further pondered the image, in the light of the scriptures, and the scriptures in the light of the image, I thought of the following which I have expressed as a parable.
The Parable of the Truck Drive and His Child
God our Father, is like a truck driver, who conceived in his heart the desire for sons and daughters, who he could love and teach to become like him in his nature, character and will, yet they would still be separate persons. Before his children were ever conceived in their mother’s womb, he was already telling all the heavenly beings about his desires and how great his love is for them. He eagerly awaited the day of their birth and beamed with joy at their birth, as he longed for the day that they would know his great love for them. While each of his children was still only a baby, he tenderly took them into the cab of his truck and told them all about his work and about how he looked forward to the day when they could go with him on the road and join him in his work. He continued doing this until the day that each child was old enough to go on the road with his father. In love, the father had the child stand on his right side next to his seat. The child responded by placing his left hand on his father’s shoulder and looking at his father’s face, as his father began to drive the truck down the road. As they went along, the father continually told his child all that was in his heart for them and explained everything he was doing in driving the truck. Eventually the child saw that their very reason for existence was so that they could become like their father, to think like their father and to do what their father was doing. The child realized that to become like his father, he must trust his father, in that he was good and that his love for his child endures forever. As the child grew in age and ability, the day finally came when his father told the child that it was time for him to sit in the driver’s seat and to begin to operate the truck in their work together. The father assured his child, that he would be standing beside him with his hand on their shoulder sharing his knowledge, skill and ability and added, “Never will I leave you and never will I forsake you”. As the child did what their father told them to do, the father’s face was beaming with joy, satisfaction and approval such that he told them, “You are no longer a child, for you have learned my ways so that everyone knows you are like me, that I am your father. Therefore, I declare that you are no longer just my child, but you are now called my son, my daughter. Let’s go on together and do the good works that I prepared for you to do before you were ever conceived in your mother’s womb. Welcome into the joy of your inheritance!”
Blessings,
Kevin