A Taste of What's Coming and a Return on Investment

I was reading today in Ephesians and the 13th and 14th verses in chapter 1 really jumped out at me.

"In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory."

God sealed us with the Holy Spirit as a sign of the inheritance that we can expect to receive (only through God's grace and kind intentions toward us). The power, help, comfort, and hope that the Holy Spirit within us gives is but a measure of what it will be like to be in the presence of our Holy God one day.

However, the benefits that we experience are not the only purpose of the Holy Spirit living within us. The Holy Spirit marks us as belonging to God. God says, "This one is Mine and will live in constant communion with Me one day, without the hindrances of this temporary world. In addition, God gets a return on His investment. The Spirit within us shines out at the world and draws people to His glory to give Him praise and become His children with this foretaste of inheritance within them as well.

What an amazing plan and treasure God has for us when we believe!