that their life was not worth living. They could see no purpose in keeping going. They were suffering physically,.they had experienced disappointment and disillusionment, and they had lost all hope that things could be any better. One was even contemplating suicide.

In my Bible Reading last week I came across a passage that speaks directly to the question of the meaning and purpose of life and our ultimate destiny. It is in the first chapter of Paul's letter to the Church in Ephesus.

Ephesus, in the ancient world, was not an easy place to live as a Christian. It was a world centre of pagan religion, in the worship of the goddess of fertility, Artemis. It had a world-wide reputation for the practice of Magic. An important part of the city's economy was dependent upon these pagan practices.

But, when Paul writes to the Christians in this city he does not talk about the difficulties they were having. Rather, he focuses on the wonderful things that the true God has done for them, and the destiny that He has given them. And what he says is as true for us as it was for his original readers.

God has blessed us, Paul says, "with every spiritual blessing in Christ" That is, those who have put their faith and trust in Christ Jesus, and have been made members of His Body through the Holy Spirit, have been given every spiritual blessing as part of their ‘membership benefits.’

The first blessing Paul mentions is a sense of worth. We have been chosen by Father God "before the creation of the world." I remember, as a child, when teams were being chosen for a game. If you were the first person chosen, you felt terribly important, If nobody wanted you, you were devastated. God chose us before He even made the world! That makes us pretty special! But note that the purpose of His choosing was that we be "holy and blameless in His sight." Many of the difficult circumstances that we complain about are simply God’s ‘tools’ for bringing us to a deeper level of holiness. Note also that God’s choosing was not based on our performance! He chose us before we had done anything.

The second blessing is that Father God gave us destiny! "He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ." Our destiny is to be a child of God, with all the power and privileges that entails. The significance of this is that our destiny relates to who we are, rather than what we do. Regardless of our performance, we have a destiny in God. And this is "in accordance with [God's] pleasure and will." It pleases Father God to have us as His children.

As a father and a grandfather I get great p1easure from my family. I delight in their visits, I rejoice when they call me up from interstate or overseas, even at times that may be inconvenient. I am thrilled when they present me with their childish attempts at kindergarten craft, or their first efforts at writing. How much more does Father God rejoice over us, just because we are His! This is your destiny! If you are having trouble entering into it, please see me.