Ephesians 1
One of the benefits of reading the Bible
– beyond the fact that God works through it to strengthen our faith, give
forgiveness of our sins, and preserve us for eternal life! – is seeing the awe
and reverence in the text as it speaks of God and describes Jesus.
We live in an “awe-less” society. The
other day I was watching The Return of
the King with my 15 year old. This is a movie that was nominated for
eleven Academy Awards: including, Best Visual Effects, and Best Film Editing, and it won
in all categories. It is truly epic. However, at one point my son commented,
“The CGI (computer graphics inserted into the movie) is pretty good,
considering when the move was released.” He takes for granted that incredible
graphics can be made for movies – and the awe that I experienced when I saw the
movie was, at least to some degree, lost on him.
When it comes to our faith, I sometimes
worry that we’ve lost the awe at the message of salvation and that we just take
for granted the incredible things God has done for us in Christ. There are a
variety of reasons this happens. Sin is often not understood in all its horror,
so grace is not appreciated for all its glory. Sometimes we emphasize our own
efforts and good works so that we diminish the message of salvation by grace
through faith. Other times it is simply a matter of familiarity, and losing the
feeling of amazement at Christ’s cross and the empty tomb.
Ephesians 1 is a nice place to be
reminded of the awe and joy we have in Jesus’ forgiveness as Paul waxes eloquent
describing God and His attitude toward us – that He chose, predestined, adopted,
and blessed us in Christ. Speaking of Jesus he emphasizes redemption,
forgiveness, rich grace lavished upon us, wisdom, mystery, and the fullness of
time.
What an incredible thing God has done
for us! When we believe this good news about our salvation it seems good and
right that one of our first responses should be a shocked and amazed, “Wow!
Thanks be to God!”
Thank You, God for choosing me. Help me to
share the hope I have in Jesus with others so they too may look to You with joy
and say, “Wow!”
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