40 Days Blog - Day 6
While Neil Armstrong was taking his ‘one small step for man’ on the moon surface, with the whole world and his colleague Buzz Aldrin looking on, their third crewmate, Michael Collins, was left orbiting the moon all alone. As Collins passed to the far side and out of contact with flight control at Houston, he was suddenly utterly alone with only the vastness of the universe before him. He wrote:
I am alone now, truly alone, and absolutely isolated from any known life. I am it. If a count were taken, the score would be three billion plus two over on the other side of the Moon, and one plus God knows what on this side.
Indeed! Only God knows the extent of His creation.
How big is your mind? Not how intelligent or bright are you, but just how much can you grasp?
Having encouraged the Ephesians with the truth of their full welcome into God’s family Paul turns again to an outpouring of prayer for the them. In his earlier prayer (
Ephesians 1:15-23 - Blog Day 2) he prayed that the Ephesians would know God better and grow in wisdom and understanding. This prayer is more of an outpouring of worship. He asks us to stand back and ponder the vastness of God’s love for us.
Take time to read the passage through slowly and think of Paul “
kneeling in prayer” and praying this earnestly for his friends.
The passage seems to revolve round the phrase “
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (
v17). It is a picture of Jesus making His home in our hearts. When Jesus takes up residence there and calls it home His love for others is established.
We should challenge ourselves today to think on whether Jesus is a welcome tenant in our hearts. Are we open to Him and His guidance? Do we experience and pass His love on to others? This might show its expression in being practically supportive of others, or even just praying for them. Turning our hearts outward to look at the needs of neighbours, friends, workmates and especially those we find it hard to like. Prayer is always a good place to start.
We learn this truth in the Bible – “
that we love because God first loved us” (see
1 John 4:19). Christ has shown us what true love is. We are to have lives “….rooted and established in love” (
v17) and, Paul says, this is only possible in the power of the Spirit.
When my father was teaching me DIY he always said, “Measure twice, cut once”. It was important to get the measure of the job right or it would all go wonky or result in another trip to the wood store. Here Paul is saying ‘get the measure of God’s love’. Then he goes on to explain that we can never actually get the extent of it because it is beyond measure in every dimension and generous beyond understanding.
Today give thanks for this and pray in particular for friends, family and acquaintances that they may truly come to experience God’s love for them.
A Prayer
Father God, as I wonder at Your creation, I thank You that You that Jesus lives in my heart. I ask that today You will help His love to grow in me and direct me. I pray for…………. (Name your friends etc.). You know their needs but help me show Your love to them.
Amen.
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