![]() Not mere concepts or principles, but action and daily practice. When scripture speaks of “knowing” or “understanding” a truth or a principle, it is always with action in mind. ![]() Paul does not pray a general prayer, such as “Lord, please bless the Ephesians.” Rather, he prays specifically that the Lord would enlighten our hearts so that we would understand and act upon the realities of life in Christ. Paul prays that the Lord will enlighten “the eyes of our hearts” so that we might know and understand the hope, riches, and power that we have in Christ. “… that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might.” (Ephesians 1.17-19) In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul prays this for us: As a result, Christians follow a very different path. God calls us to a Christ-centered mindset, and our hope is grounded in God’s promises and faithfulness, not in circumstances. Hope for a Christian is very different than the world’s idea of hope. Foolish people have a self-oriented mindset, hope for the wrong things, and when their hope is delayed or deferred (which is inevitable in a fallen world), their heart is crushed. At the heart of it all is your attitude your mindset. What you hope for and set your heart on matters, and so does your discipline and perseverance in pursuing what you hope for. When we look at this verse through the lens of the kingdom of God, it teaches something essential about our Christian walk, and I believe it links with the previous verse that emphasizes discipline and perseverance. ![]() This is not the way Christians are called to live. If we get what we hope for within the time we expected, then we are happy. The problem, however, is that this describes a way of living that is highly dependent on circumstances. But when our longings and desires are fulfilled, the experience is joyfully fulfilling. In this verse, Solomon states a reality of the human condition: hope that is seriously delayed or never comes to pass makes the heart sick. “ Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |