Day 17- Near Death Nearer Wisdom?

"that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him" Ephesians 1:17

I nearly died tonight. Working with my father-in-law on a dryer repair job, I went to pull the plug out of the socket and accidentally touched the hot ends of the dryer plug together. Needless to say I punched out all the power in our little townhouse, saw a big spark, and had a moment of sheer panic, but suffered no injuries. My wife has since banned me from all things electric.

It makes me wonder about this spirit of wisdom and of revelation. It is not often that I have a near-death experience. I started to reflect after the incident that this would be a pretty sad day to have gone out on. I woke up late because I'm sick. I did a few menial tasks. I was not particularly loving nor unloving to my family. I was probably a little selfish, as I have a tendency to be when I'm sick. I doubt that, if I died today, wisdom would be a word used to describe me. Passionate, maybe. Likable, I'd say so. Wise, I'm not so sure. But I have to remind myself that God's wisdom is not the world's wisdom. Maybe my near-death experience gets me closer to wisdom than a psychology course.

A passage from Proverbs illustrates what I mean: "The fear of God is beginning of wisdom." Maybe God's wisdom has more to do with knowing God, the eternal, the father of glory, the alpha and the omega. By comparison, well, you just can't compare. I am dust and to dust I shall return. Maybe understanding my own mortality is a better road to wisdom. This reflection fits better in lent than in Epiphany, but there it is anyway.

So all that to say: be careful if someone says they are praying for you to receive God's wisdom. It might not be what you expect.

by the will of God,

Jonathan

Day 16- Giving Thanks

"I do not cease to give thanks for you remembering you in my prayers" Ephesians 1:16

It's been a few days since my last post. I've been spending time with my family and haven't had time to write my thoughts here. While I was with my family, we celebrated my father's 60th birthday. For one night, we really took the time to thank my father for what his life means to us.

This verse is challenging to me because, while Paul may be exaggerating slightly when he says that he does not cease to give thanks for the Ephesians, he probably does live a life of gratitude for the saints he has encountered. The way that Paul does this, at least according to this verse, is to remember people in his prayers.

Sounds like a good starting place. Any ideas for remembering people in my prayers? I've heard of making note cards for people in our lives and praying for all of them during the course of one week. Any other thoughts?

by the will of God,

Jonathan

Day 15: Toward not For; Ours not mine

"For this reason, because I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and your love toward all the saints" Ephesians 1:15

The word that jumps out at me in this verse is actually one that I remembered incorrectly. I thought the verse said "and your love for" rather than "your love toward." These are not prepositions that I normally use interchangeably. Love For to me is much more passive and seems like more of an inward feeling. Love Toward is about action and doing. Not having the expertise to check the Greek, I checked another translation. Here it is:

"For this cause I also having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which ye show toward all the saints..." (ASV)

Having read this passage from the American Standard Version, I wonder if I should be memorizing in this translation. This translation maintains the toward but also adds this key phrase which ye show. So it seems that what Paul is praising here is not love the feeling but love the action.

Another interesting thing to note in this translation is the way Paul praises their faith. He does not praise their faith individually, but the faith that they have among them.

Two challenges from this passage: Activate my love for the saints and practice communal faith. I find that both of these are particular challenges to our culture which makes so much of sentimentality in love, and individuality in faith. I think I'll start both of these practices in my own home.

by the will of God,
Jonathan

Day 14

"who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory." Ephesians 1:14

I was rocking my 2-year-old daughter to sleep tonight. She had woken up because she had an "accident." She felt bad about it and let me know. I made sure to tell her that it was not a "no-no" and that I loved her very much. As I laid her down to sleep again, I felt a pang of pain in my heart. I wanted her to be assured of my love for her, not to have to make sure every time she had an accident.

Reading these verses again from a father's point of view gives it a different tone. As God is our father (which Paul mentions a few times in) and as Paul himself is a father to the church in Ephesus, I think it is an appropriate lens. In this verse, God gives me a guarantee of my inheritance in the form of His Holy Spirit. Like my daughter, I still find myself in doubt of my heavenly Father's love when I mess up.

I wonder what Paul means by inheritance? It must be pretty awesome if the Holy Spirit is only a down-payment for that inheritance. Seems like the inheritance is the world in which God unites all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

May I live more by the Spirit tomorrow and become a sign of our future inheritance.

by the will of God,

Jonathan

Day 13

"In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised holy spirit." Ephesians 1:13

I am not really feeling any connection to a part of this verse today. I am reminded of a question that I was wondering about on the second day of this journey. Why does Paul exclude the third part of the trinity from verse two. "Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ." And here we are, almost to the end of Paul's opening praise of God and just now arriving at the Holy Spirit. I wonder if there is something contextual about Ephesus or even about the trinity at this early period in church history, that caused Paul to lead with God and Christ, and only make brief mention of the Holy Spirit.

More questions I don't have answers for. It reminds me of my need for a good commentary on Ephesians. Suggestions are welcomed.

One other topic seems to come up here, though I won't try to address to tonight: assurance of salvation. Are we "sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ's own forever?" Can nothing separate us from Christ (Romans 8)? Like I said, I am not trying to address it tonight, just going to leave it there.

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. It has been a busy season. I pray that I would take time tomorrow to honor Mary, Joseph, and of course, Jesus. As the birth of my second child approaches, I pray that I, like Mary, would open more and more to the riches of his grace and trust Him for what the future holds.

by the will of God,

Jonathan

Day 12

"so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory." Ephesians 1:12

So now we find out why God has given us our inheritance-- so that we might be to the praise of His glory. It reminds me of Abraham who was blessed to be a blessing to all nations. But why would God choose me before the foundations of the world to be to the praise of His glory? Why not send angels to magnify His glory? I guess He does do that sometimes. And the heavens also declare the glory of God.

I keep running into this humbling feeling while reading this chapter. I don't feel like I am living to the praise of His Glory. I know that how I feel is not the only important thing and yet there is some truth to this feeling of humility. The only conclusion I can draw is that I am a work in progress. Thanks be to God who has not given up on me yet.

only by the will of God,

Jonathan

Day 11

"In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will." Ephesians 1:11

I think my first reaction to reading this verse was "What did I just read?" This is maybe the most convoluted passage so far. I don't know if its more theologically complex, but it is certainly wordy. I think my task here is to break it down:

In him we have obtained an inheritance. In him we have great wealth, but not the kind of great wealth we have earned, but the great wealth that comes when our father dies. What our father was rich in, we become rich in.

having been predestined... I talked about predestination in an earlier entry. What I see as essential about this predestination, is that God has already chosen to accept us. The gift of God's glorious grace is extended to us before the day begins.

according to the purpose of him... as we learned in verse 10, God's purpose is to draw all people to himself. So this gift, this inheritance, should be understood in the context of His plan and purpose fot eh world.

who works all things according to the counsel of his will..I'm not really sure what to make of this, except that Paul is reminding the Ephesians that God consults himself in matters of the universe, not necessarily us. Any other thoughts on this part of the verse would be appreciated.

I hope to be receptive to the gifts of God tomorrow.

by the will of God,

Jonathan