The One Who Fills All in All
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Ephesians 1:17-23
17. I pray 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, 18. 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, 19. and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20. which he accomplished in Christ when he raised him from the dead and made him sit at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21. far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come; 22. and he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23. which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all.
Any single one of these verses says plenty to discuss, as I am short on time and still on restricted computer usage due to the carpel tunnel flare up, I looked for an end to a sentence and realized the sentence doesn’t end until verse 23! I really like Paul! He writes as he thinks, flowing, and lots of run-on sentences. And I understand his reluctance to end a sentence too soon when referring to Jesus. One could go on and on for a lifetime and still not say enough about Him.
Paul’s prayer for the believers, though, is not for an “easy” life or for riches on earth. He never mentions that he prays for our every whim to be satisfied or even that we will have the one thing on this earth we may want the most, does he? There’s no mention of lots of friends, a comfortable routine in our daily lives, no thought of how to spend our leisure time or what plans to make for our retirement. Paul, even in all his ramblings, is single-minded. And that’s what he prays for us--to be single-minded in how we live our lives.
His prayer is that we will have a relationship with Christ that rivals all other relationships. He wants us to know and love our Savior more than we love our own life. His prayer is that we will join him in sharing the good news of the risen Christ who won for us the one thing we never could do for ourselves: eternal life in heaven.
As he prays, he interjects how we will be able to live the life the Resurrection calls us to. And he tells us who has gone before us to make the way we need to go, and who will walk beside us on the path. Paul prays that we will live out our faith. He goes the long way around to get there, but that’s what he’s saying. If we are saved, we can’t really be happy unless we live like it, think like it, act like it.
My prayer today is that you remember who paid the price for the gift of your life. And that you turn throughout this day, certain to be full of challenges, to the only one who fills all in all.
Mary
