Employee-owned ∙

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Employee-owned ∙

The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. – John 3:35

Romans 8:17 And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, we are fellow heirs with Christ.

Titus 3:4-7

 4 But when God our Savior revealed his kindness and love,

 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.

 6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.

 7 Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.

A company is employee-owned when more than 30% of its employees have ownership in it. An employee-owned company is more commonly referred to as an “employee stock ownership plan,” (or ESOP). In an ESOP, the employees are given stock in the company as part of the compensation for working at the company, making them shareholders.

It has obvious benefits for the employees, and it profits the company as well. When people own something, they take better care of it than if it is rented or leased. There is a pride of ownership and a desire to protect and maintain. Employees work harder and smarter. It is easier to develop a sense of family and unity.

The kingdom of God is in a sense employee-owned. Actually, a better description might be family-owned. When people accept the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, they become part of the Forever Family. We are born again into the family business.

Perhaps you have never thought about it, but the Father is in an exclusive one-of-a-kind business. He alone created a special niche that no one else can enter. He is in the redemption business. The Father only has one competitor. His competitor, the enemy of our souls, is in the perdition business.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

The Lord Jesus Christ paid the debt for all our sins so that each of us could be redeemed, forgiven, enter into the Father’s family and have eternal life. We “did nothing to deserve it; God, the great Father, in his amazing love and mercy, has taken lost, helpless, poverty-stricken, debt-laden sinners and adopted them into his own family, so that the debts are canceled, and the glory inherited” (Barclay).

REFLECT & PRAY

Each of us is born in utter spiritual poverty. Yet through Christ, we are the present and eternal possessors of untold spiritual wealth.

Father as I ponder the amazing implications of my inheritance, I am truly overwhelmed. I cannot take it all in. How can it be that You being You, would seek me out, invite me, and then adopt me into Your Forever Family? It is mindboggling, extraordinary. Thank You that it is all true.

INSIGHT

The Father gave control of His business over to the Son. The Lord Jesus Christ is the heir, He is the owner of it all.

But there is more and it is marvelous.

Each child of the King is a fellow heir with Christ. What belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ in total, belongs to each of us in part. Our inheritance is not just a future expectation, but a present reality.

An infant cannot write or sign a check. But each of the Father’s children has an eternal account filled with spiritual wealth. In a sense, the balance of our spiritual trust fund is a Googolplex, a number so vast, it is almost beyond measure. It “includes all of the riches and wealth of the entire creation” (Cottrell). As joint-heirs with Christ, we have access to this enormous treasure right now.  In order walk in the Spirit, we must draw down from it continuously. Our spiritual riches are the source of our hope and confidence, and also our energy and vision. We can do all things through Him who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).

“Christians are men and women for whom the best is always still to be, they know that, however wonderful life on earth with Christ may be, the life to come will be greater still. Christians are people who know the wonder of the forgiveness of past sins, the thrill of present life with Christ, and the hope of the greater life which is yet to come” (Barclay).

Our Father is rich. How rich? The Lord God Almighty is rich beyond all measure. He not only owns all that He created; He has the power to create as much as He wants.

What must we do to somehow gain a share in His wealth? Absolutely nothing! When we are born again into His Forever Family, the Father freely shares His great wealth with each of us. We become His heirs. In fact, we are fellow heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).

The only thing we have to do is believe in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. When we do we become children of the King and fellow-heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. We inherit a treasure beyond imagination or calculation.

When the Father sent the Lord Jesus Christ to die for us, it was “the greatest revelation of God’s kindness and love for humankind. God took the initiative. God does not save people because they behave righteously but because He is merciful” (Constable).

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