Gold Coins

Brother Deryl Baumgardner sent me this quote from Augustus Toplady and I enjoyed it so much that I thought I’d pass it along.

The book of life, or decree of election, is the marriage-register of the saints; in which their everlasting espousal to Christ stands indelibly recorded by the pen of God’s free and eternal love. As the gold of which money is made is the king’s property ever before it is struck into coin, and before it visibly bears the royal image and superscription; so the unregenerate elect are God’s own heritage, though they do not appear to be such, until the Holy Spirit has made them pass through the mint of effectual calling, and actually stamped them into current coin for the kingdom of Heaven. The elect are betrothed to Christ from everlasting in the covenant of grace; they are actually married to Him, and join hands with Him, in conversion; but they are not taken home to the bridegroom’s house until death dismisses them from the body. (Augustus Toplady)

I am particularly fond of the gold / minting imagery that Toplady uses. While all such metaphors have their limitations, I like that it depicts how God regarded us as valuable even before regeneration, and how regeneration is that whereby we man begin to resemble our maker externally through manifestations of his Spirit that are visible before others.

- Elder Daniel Samons