The Seal of Ownership

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... 
Ephesians 1:13

Here is why we can be so confident that God is going to work for good in all circumstances: We belong to him. He takes care of those who are his. When we were baptized into Christ, we were given the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), but Paul helps us see here that the reception of the Spirit marked us “with a seal.” In the ancient world, a package or a crate that was being shipped would have a seal of ownership placed on it indicating who it belonged to. In some cases the seal might be a unique symbol, somewhat akin to what we know as corporate logos today. When that seal was seen, there was no doubt about who the owner was. Paul says the Holy Spirit has been placed on us who are in Christ to clearly show that we belong to God.

We are the children of God. We belong to his family. We are not orphans in a dark, cold universe. We are a people belonging to God. What do you do with your own valuable things? All responsible people take care of what is theirs. I will soon be taking my car in for an oil change because I want to take care of what belongs to me. On a much more important level, I will be in touch with each of our children this week because I care about their lives¾even though they are all grown. I first wrote this chapter on the birthday of my “son by marriage.” He is now part of our family. I just called to encourage him and tell him how much I love him. I would do anything for him. He belongs to us. In the same way, each believer belongs to God. Each disciple is marked with God’s seal of ownership. God looks down from heaven, and seeing his seal on us he says, They belong to me, and I will care for them.