1. God who adopts me as His child regardless of my circumstances.
Ephesians 1:3-5
3 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.
4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will?
The spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms?what are they? They are probably the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Even if we are like wild peaches, of low quality by nature, when grafted onto the true peach tree, our very nature and essence change, allowing us to bear different fruit. Believing in Jesus Christ means exactly that.
The Bible tells us to consider our origins. In 1 Corinthians, it says, "Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth." Instead, God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; He chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
So, I was never ashamed of my background or origins. But the world was different. When I entered the workplace, people tested me to see whether I had connections or not, whether I was strong or weak. Once they realized that I had no backing and that I was soft-hearted, they immediately treated me with disregard.
Just as people looked down on Jesus because He was from Galilee, because His parents were poor carpenters, and because His friends were tax collectors, fishermen, and prostitutes, they also judged me. Seeing that I treated everyone with kindness and befriended people without discrimination, they condemned me as well.
But now, a new era of great happiness has arrived?one where I no longer have to deal with such people. In reality, those who are truly wealthy and exceptional often recognize that their success came by chance and understand that arrogance leads to downfall. Because of this wisdom, they do not judge people based on superficial standards.
Ironically, the ones who tend to evaluate others by their status are often the insecure middle class. They have struggled to climb higher, facing rejection and disregard along the way. As a result, they take out their frustrations on those weaker than them while flattering those they perceive as slightly above them.
It was amusing to see people who had once been wealthy in their childhood but had since lost everything?both on their side of the family and their in-laws?yet still carried themselves with an air of superiority. Despite being nothing more than ordinary employees like everyone else, they clung to their past illusions of grandeur as if they were still important.
