Read: Ephesians 1:15-23
Reflect: Regardless of where we traveled when I was a child, Daddy always seemed to find someone he knew. He could rattle off all the details of that person’s family tree. Years later, my dad might mention a person’s name. If I had no idea who the he/she was, Daddy would say something along the lines of, “Oh, you know who they are. Sally is related to Sam who is related to Steve and they lived on the Stephens farm for 38 years before they moved next to the Susquehanna River.” People’s names, and their connections, were really important to Daddy. He was a salesman and his address book was full of details of clients and notes about them. In contrast, his Bible was only opened when he had to occasionally teach a men’s Sunday School class. I don’t know what he taught the men since he didn’t know the Word. Maybe he told them stories of Sally, Sam, and Steve on the Stephens Farm. God was distant and far off.
MORE THAN KNOWING SALLY, SAM AND STEVE
The Apostle Paul knew something was even more important than knowing people; it was knowing God. Paul’s prayer for believers in Ephesians 1:17 states: “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.” This is more than knowing Sally, Sam and Steve. This is intimately knowing the God you are going to spend today and eternity with.
KNOWING GOD PRODUCES LIFE CHANGE
It’s deeper than a Meet & Greet where you read the person’s nametag and exchange brief details, like “Are you related to Sally, my 3rd cousin, twice removed?” Really knowing God produces a change of life. Verses 18 & 19 mention the HOPE (to which we have been called), the wonderful INHERITANCE in which we belong, and INCOMPARABLY GREAT POWER made available to us who believe.
WE ARE WHAT GOD HAS INHERITED
I used to work in the estate department of a financial institution. Lots of times, family members fought over the estates of the departed because they wanted a larger share. I find it fascinating that in verse 14 Paul refers to our inheritance, but in verse 18 it talks about a different inheritance, God’s inheritance. We are what God has inherited. View it as if the names of believers were written in a will which Jesus Christ left when He died on the cross. God was the beneficiary of this estate. God delights in you (and me) as being part of His inheritance. That is amazing! What is further astounding is that God has decided to further invest in His inheritance of believers by making us grow. He has decided to make His inheritance expand via His riches of love, wisdom, suffering, and glory. He is delighted in His family of believers!
when you know god, the enemy flees
Apply: Is your relationship with God like my not knowing Sally, who was related to Sam, who was related to Steve, and they lived on the Stephens farm for 38 years before they moved next to the Susquehanna River? How much love, devotion and concentration have you decided to invest into your relationship with God? Is He the One you just can’t get enough of? When you begin to know God like that, the enemy flees. God delights in investing in you. How about getting to know Him better?