with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may
know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his
glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of
his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.
Ephesians 1: 18-19
The eyes of our heart is our understanding. Paul wants the
Ephesians’ understanding of God to have spiritual depth and spiritually insight
that they may better know that God has called them to be in Christ. The hope
that God has called us is to live with the peace and wisdom of Christ. To live
beyond a normal existence and experience things this world cannot give. To be
in Christ is to accept him as Lord over our lives and live according to his
will.
How do we learn to live with the peace and wisdom of
Christ? What is it that transforms us to experience a life different from
others in this world? Although prayer and Bible study are important there are
others things which God uses to enlighten our minds. Sometime painful experiences
are the only way to get our attention. When we are busy with day to day
problems we often forget God. In our comfortable lives God seems unnecessary.
We put God on the back burner and busy ourselves with menial task. We comfort ourselves
with loved ones, shopping sprees, or entertainment. There is so much in this
world to draw our attention we fail to notice how we replace God with people
and things.
Suffering is a
powerful focusing agent. If a loved one is ill or we lose the ability to pay
our bills the associated pain quickly prioritizes out thinking. Where we once
drifted from one amusement to another, pain will cause us to drop every
insignificant thing and bring all our attention to bear on the pain. We quickly
turn to the Bible for a word of hope or to prayer for peace.
Suffering produces endurance as we learn to carry more
for a longer period of time. Endurance produces character when we have learned
to endure we become people with a better reputation. We stop acting as children
and display the character of maturity. This new found character produces hope
of Christ in our lives. And the richness of God’s salvation from a life of sin
to the inheritance of the saints produces peace.
Dear Lord, fill me with hope to know your calling. Let
me learn from the things you bring into my life. Give to me all I can bear so
that I may develop endurance, character and hope. Let me always remember the
glorious richness you have given me and the immeasurable greatness of your
power.
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