A Life Worthy

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus…(Eph. 3:20-21).

Jesus brings glory to the Father.

Now this makes sense to me.

The Son, who has power and wisdom and authority beyond all measure or comprehension, willingly set it aside out of obedience to the Father. He chose to make the Father’s will his own, and to follow the Father’s plan even when it led him, quite literally, to the gates of hell.

Because he loves his Father.

Yeah, I would imagine that brings glory to God.

Happy Thursday, Beloved

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine, according to the power that is at work within us… (Eph. 3:20).

Some mornings, I don’t really feel it. I don’t feel “the power at work within me.”

This may or may not be one of those mornings.

On those mornings I wake up feeling like I haven’t even gone to bed yet, as if my alarm clock is a liar from the pit of hell.

I feel tired.

I feel stressed.

I feel useless.

I feel hopeless.

I feel broken.

I feel empty.

I feel old.

I feel weak.

Guess what, Beloved?

My feelings are full of beans. I know this, because I serve a God who tells the truth–who is the Truth–and he tells me that his Holy Spirit is at work in me right here, right now. He is filling me, strengthening me, protecting me, empowering me, building me, guiding me, transforming me into the image of the One who created me with his very breath and loved me to the depths of hell

and back.

Oh Lord, let me not be ruled by my feelings,

They are such fickle masters,

But let me trust you and walk in your truth

Today and always

Amen

Happy Tuesday, Beloved.

—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19).

Filled to the measure…to be so full of God that there’s no room for anything else.  You know what that makes me think of? It makes me think of the scene in It’s a Wonderful Life when Jimmy Stewart is wooing Donna Reed.  He tells her he’s gonna lasso the moon and bring it down for her. She could then swallow the moon, and the moonbeams would shoot out from her fingertips and the ends of her hair.  That’s what this verse makes me think of. Paul wants us to be so full of God’s love that it pours out of us—shoots out of us in all directions. Beloved, if we could just grasp the giganticatiousness of God’s love, we would be filled to capacity with his…well, with him.

And if you overflow into the lives of those around you…

well…

would that be so bad?

Happy Friday, Beloved

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ… (Ephesians 3:17b-18).

If you only knew.

We can’t really grasp God’s love.  It is totally beyond our brains. We can use metaphors—parent and child, husband and wife—but ultimately, they fall short.  Can you imagine a trillion of something? I’ll give you a hand. One trillion seconds equates to about 31,000 years. Which we also can’t imagine, since we’ve been around less than a hundred years.

Most of us.

The problem is, we’re so stinking finite.  How do we grasp the idea of an infinite God, and his infinite love?

It’s a good problem to have, really.

Seems to me, the more we can understand of the sheer magnitude of God’s love for us, the more our problems will shrink in comparison.

Is God’s love big enough to cover…?

Does God love me even though I…?

Can God’s love handle all the…?

If you only knew, Beloved.

Happy Wednesday

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name (Ephesians 3:14-15).

So, about two weeks ago–our time–Paul took a little side trip to remind us of what God has done for us through Paul’s life.

Well, now he’s back.

Gotta love those rabbit trails.

In any case, Paul mentions something about God here that I find fascinating. Almost in passing, he says, “from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derived its name.” Another translation says, “from whom all fatherhood in heaven and on earth…”

I like that.

God is the archetype, the epitome, the model of all fatherhood. The concept originates with him. He defines it. When I see God protecting, loving, providing, teaching, giving, disciplining, guiding, leading, forgiving, sacrificing, restoring–I realize that’s what I’m supposed to be. Then I consider my own track record as a dad and I see my own inadequacies and I begin to hyperventilate

until I remember

grace.

Beloved, if you are a father, you have been given a great name. Do all that you can, in His grace, to live up to it.

Beloved, if you have a father, think of him with grace, knowing that the bar is set pretty high. And remember, no matter what sort of earthly dad you may have, you have a heavenly Father who is all you need always.

Happy Monday, Beloved.