The real blessing

"In order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."  Gal. 3:14

As I read the bible I'm often forced to slow down, reread and reflect on a passage.  There is so much in each sentence that it's easy to skim over magnificent truths and miss them completely.

As Paul is explaining the blessings and promises of God in Galatians he finishes this passage on Abraham with this verse.  In it is this-  

the blessing of Abraham = the promise of the Spirit

In other words, the one thing promised to Abraham's seed was that one day God would give them his Spirit to dwell in them....in us.  

Jesus talks about this in reference to prayer in the gospels when he says, "if you give good gifts to your children don't you think God will give the Spirit to those who ask?"

The prize is the Spirit's presence in our lives.  It is the essential thing that must be true about a person who believes.  Why does it matter?  

Because the Spirit of God is the guarantee 
that I'm a child of God, 
he is the down payment for more to come, 

he is my comforter, 

my guide, 

he gives me peace, 

I'm never alone because he is with me, 

he convicts me, 

helps me, 

guides me, 

and teaches me.  

He always points me to Jesus.  

He is my adoption seal that I'm a child of God!  

And he will never leave me!  

He is the answer to the question, Can a Christian lose his salvation? And he would reply, "NO! I'm never leaving, this one is a child of God. He's mine!"  

The rich blessing of God is not a car, money, a house or even a nice family....it's the presence of his Spirit in the life of the believer.  

That's the real blessing!