Can I Be Sure I'm Okay With God?

Mark: If you've ever wondered whether you're okay with God, this one's for you. I check my front door lock twice every night, and I do the same with him.

Sarah: I wondered that for years. This verse is from a letter to the Ephesians, traditionally credited to Paul, and it talks about a seal. Let me read it.

Scripture: In him you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory.

Mark: A seal. Like a mark of ownership? That sounds nice, but how would you know it's actually on you, and not just on better people?

Sarah: It's talking to people who heard the good news and believed in Christ. The passage ties the seal to hearing and believing. They were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.

Mark: I doubt all the time, and maybe you do too. Some mornings you don't feel sealed or anything. Doesn't that mean you're probably not?

Sarah: Feelings can change, and one study guide says security rests on the seal, not our feelings. Right around this verse, the writer prays they'd come to know their hope. So knowing is something the writer prays for, and I'm still growing into it.

Mark: So the passage says believers were sealed with the Holy Spirit, which points to God's doing. Honestly, that's a relief. Can we just talk to him about it tonight?

Sarah: You can talk to him about where you are tonight. Carry this today: the passage says believers were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. I love you, and I'd love to be there with you someday. Follow along if you'd like more.