Ephesians 3
I saw recently that one of my friends
was in Alaska. He was posting pictures of the beauty he beheld in that untamed
land. It brought back memories of being there and being in awe of glorious
wilderness, the rugged mountains, and the nearly unspoiled lands. Such things
never quite come across in the pictures, although photos can certainly stir the
memory and give a glimpse.
Paul prayed for the Ephesian Christians
that they might have, “strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the
breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses
knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” There is wildness
to God’s love, overwhelming awe to His gospel, and surpassing majesty to His
presences in our lives. However, like pictures of Alaska, sometimes these
things are hard to convey to one who hasn’t been there, so Paul prays that they
will experience it.
In many ways we try to tame God. We try
to contain Him to our Sunday morning experience. We try to limit His message, arguing
that it is only the forgiveness part that matters, the good works that we
should focus on, the mystical that is most important, or the practical which is
key. None of these stands alone or gives the whole picture.
Knowing God’s love and forgiveness is
certainly at the heart of God’s will for us. Without this everything else
becomes a vain striving after the wind. But having Christ in our hearts and
knowing His love keenly – as one who has been drenched by it in Baptism or
filled with the taste of it in the Lord’s Supper – will change us and the way
we live. The forgiveness and love we have experienced permeates every aspect of
our lives, making our careers, our homes, our hobbies, and all else the context
into which His mercy overflows to be experienced by others through us and our
actions which reflect Jesus to the world.
God is able to do far more abundantly
that all we ask or think, according the power at work within us. That power is
the salvation Jesus won on the cross and displayed in His resurrection. Enjoy
the grandeur of it and then share the wonder with others that they might know
it by knowing Jesus too.
Lord, I stand in awe of you. Help me share
the awe that others might believe in You too and know Your surpassing grace.
Amen.
Comments