Branding and the Holy Spirit

One of the great privileges of cowboy'n is being asked to rope calves at branding time. Brandings have become a great part of the social aspect of the cattle industry. Neighbours and friends meet to get a job done, talk about the weather, and tell tales of their spring calving experiences. Although some city slickers might argue that branding is all fun for the cowboy; yet all trauma for the calves, it is an important task that guarantees calf ownership come roundup in the fall.

I suppose branding was more of a necessity at the turn of the century when Allflex tags were not yet available. Besides, every cattle producer knows that the likelyhood of tags being ripped out is not an impossibility. In addition, if a rustler did happen to steal some calves, a tag could be easily cut out and replaced. There is no lying with the good old-fashioned branding iron. The iron leaves a permanent imprint that stays with the animal its entire life.

As I got to thinking about branding, I began to reflect upon a key privilege of all those who have responded in faith to the unsurpassable grace of God through Jesus Christ. In the book of Ephesians (which happens to be one of my favorite Pauline letters) the apostle praises God for the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in salvation.

The blessing of the Father's free and sovereign grace in choosing us before the foundation of the world is ours according to the purpose of his will (Eph. 1:3-6). Furthermore, we have redemption through the blood of Christ, the forgiveness of tresspasses according to the riches of his grace (Eph. 1:6-12). Lastly, but not least of these is the spiritual blessing of being sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14). Of this blessing of the Holy Spirit we turn our attention.

In the same way cattle ranchers brand their cattle, God through Christ sets His seal of ownership on all those who believe in Christ in a personal and saving way. This seal of ownership is the Holy Spirit. He is the guarantee of our inheritance. In theological terms, the seal of the Holy Spirit is an inward mark of God's ownership of His people. In cattlemen's terms the brand of the Holy Spirt guarantees that God has vested interest in that critter.

What is more, as the guarantee of our inheritance, the Spirit of God is the down payment of our full and complete redemption. That is, the foretaste of eternal joy in God's presence! This is a glorious blessing for those who hang their hat on Christ alone for full and complete salvation. The savior's of our time, things like money, prestige, and possessions, seal our fate as we flounder around from one temporary pleasure to the next. Our great Savior, Jesus Christ, is the grounds of being branded, as it were, by the Spirit of God. This is a most excellent privilege for the believer. While branding is an outward imprint of temporary ownership, the Spirit's seal is an inward reality of eternal ownership to God the Father through Jesus Christ our Lord.

All this is said to be, "to the praise of His glory." Glorifying God is our appropriate response to all the spriritual blessing that are ours!