Read today’s texts first: Ecclesiastes 4-6; Psalms 18; Ephesians 3
Having an eternal perspective becomes possible when the Spirit of God takes up residence in our hearts.
Again, the pessimism in Solomon’s words is almost laughable to an optimist like me: I concluded that the dead are better off than the living. And most fortunate of all are those who were never born. For they have never seen all the evil that is done in our world (4:2,3). This may be the source of the ultimate fighting words: “you’ll wish you had never been born!” As depressing as it may sound, that sentiment is shared by many in our day, almost 3,000 years later. We often hear married couples today say, almost nobly, they’ve decided not to bring children into this troubled world.
Contrast these dark words with the soaring brilliance of our Ephesians passage today: May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope (3:19,20).
The difference between the two? Jesus! Solomon alluded to “eternity in our hearts” (3:11), but that eternal perspective wasn’t fully possible until the Spirit of God took up residence in our hearts. Now, despite the evil still present in our world, we now have the upper hand, and so do our children! When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit (3:14-16).
Knowing now how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is (3:18), my natural optimism has been infused with supernatural faith! “Lord, Your love has given me confidence to overcome the evil around me, and the hope that my children and grand kids can do the same.”
No comments:
Post a Comment