In heavenly places

…even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, - Ephesians 2v5-6

‘Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls—Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer's feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills.’ (Habakkuk 3v17-19)

These two verses, tied together, have always intrigued, amazed, and encouraged me. As part of the marvelous passage following, “but God” is this little section that tells us that God has made us alive, saved us by His grace, and then, ‘made us ti sit together in heavenly places in Christ.’

As part of our many, many blessings we have this position of being lifted up in Christ into something the Bible calls ‘heavenly places.” I have always seen it this way. While we have to live in this present day and age, with all of its sin and problems and misery and hopelessness and despair, we also are able to live above it all.

No matter how bad it gets around us, no matter how hopeless it seems – even if there are no grapes on the vine, sheep in the fold, or herds in the barn we still live in the heavenly places in Christ. Not only that; we live there, not alone, but together in Christ.

This world is not my home, not even now. My citizenship and my residence is already elsewhere.