Ephesians 1:15-23
Maybe you have heard the story of the elderly father who is
saying good-bye to his daughter at the airport.
He realizes this may be the last time they see each other and as she
leaves him he wishes her “enough”. She replies that he has already given her all
that she needs and she too wishes him “enough.
When a by-stander asked what he meant, with tears in his eyes he says it
is an abbreviated way of saying:
*I wish you enough sun to keep your
attitude bright.
* I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
* I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
* I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
* I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
* I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
* I wish enough hello's to get you through the final goodbye. [1]
* I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.
* I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.
* I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.
* I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
* I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.
* I wish enough hello's to get you through the final goodbye. [1]
I thought
of that poem as I read the scripture this week- especially v18 when Paul says
“I pray that the eyes of your heart will have enough light to see what is the
hope of God’s call, what is the richness of God’s glorious inheritance among
believers, and what is the overwhelming greatness of God’s powerful strength.” That is a pretty big prayer for the people of
the church in Ephesus and for us here.
Enough-
this seems like an unusual prayer. I
don’t know about you but most of the time when I pray for something I want it
all. And once I get my mind on something
I am a very impatient person. I want
what I want and I want it yesterday.
Patience is not my strong suit and as much as God tries to teach me to
savor every step, appreciate the journey and celebrate each little
accomplishment I really struggle to accept all these little bits and pieces as
enough.
We want
these amazing Ah-ha moments. We want
life to be full of joy, excitement, answered prayers, and these moments of
ecstatic revelation when everything goes just as you had hoped and dreamed… But that isn’t the way life is. Life is all too often- ordinary, routine,
same ol’-same ol’. Sitting at home,
watching TV, work, ball games, reading, going to Bible Study- again, cleaning- whatever it is that is occupying your time. In
these ordinary times, we often struggle to see the richness of God’s
inheritance amongst the humdrum of life.
But then we
hear of someone who seems to have had a miraculous God moment-a revelation as
to the will of God and our cynical side comes out. We hear of a woman who goes in for a
procedure to remove a tumor and the tumor that was there on Friday is gone and
we immediately think- the doctors must have mixed up the x-rays- she was never
really sick. Or the Alcoholic who has a conversion
experience and vows to never drink again- but we have our doubts-placing verbal
bets on how long his new found sobriety will last. While we want to see and have these amazing,
life altering, and exciting- Mountain top- God experiences- we struggle to
believe them when they do happen. It is
beyond our normal scope of reason- so we doubt.
It seems we
just can’t be satisfied. So Paul prays
that we, the people of God, the church, can learn to see God in all these
moments- the ordinary and the extraordinary and that in these moments we would
come to know Christ better.
I would
garner to guess that most everyone in this room feels like they know
Jesus. If nothing else we know about
Jesus. We know that he was born to a virgin,
Mary. We know he died by
crucifixion. We know that he healed
people and feed multitudes with small portions of food. We know that he had 12 best friends that
followed him around and that he liked to challenge the religious leaders of his
day. We have read his biography- most of
it anyway. But do we really know who Jesus is and what it
is like to be in a relationship with him?
The surface level knowledge is only the beginning.
Life is a
process of learning that never ends.
People who are married don’t stop talking and sharing just because they
have known each other for a long time and think you have heard all the stories
of their childhood. Just because you
have been married for 40 years doesn’t mean you know everything there is to
know about the other person. You don’t
stop calling your best friend since childhood because you already know every
quirk, every detail of their life, every dream and every heartache. We are even still learning things about
ourselves. Whether we are 25 or 95 we
are still learning about who we are, what we like and don’t like and why we
think and feel certain ways. So if we
feel that way about a spouse, our best friend since 4th grade and
ourselves- why would we ever think that we know all there is to know about
God?
It doesn’t
matter how many times we’ve read the bible through or how many times you’ve
heard a sermon or participated in a Bible study lesson on a particular
scripture- there is always something to learn.
It is about more than just the words on the page, or the words spoken by
a preacher. It is about what those words
are speaking to our hearts, how it guides us and affects what we are going
through in that particular moment.
Reading and listening are only the beginning.
John Wesley
believed that faith and being in love with God was like breathing- we breathe
in the words of God as we read scripture, listen to sermons, hear Christian songs and speakers on the
radio or TV and as we talk with others about what we believe. As we do this, as we pray, we are inhaling
all that God has to offer. As we think
about it, process it, and digest these words, experiences and conversations we
are taking in nourishment, learning and growing and aligning our will with
Christ’s will. But once we have breathed
in and nourished our souls, we must exhale.
We must send out into the world the results of that wisdom and knowledge
we have gained. We must exhale in order
to inhale another life giving breath.
In this
very ordinary action of breathing we can see and experience God. In the very ordinary action of cooking- we nourish
and share love with others. In the very
ordinary act of arguing over when to have a meeting or who is invited to participate,
we learn tolerance and patience. In the
very ordinary act of shaking someone’s hand we offer the hand of Christ in
welcome and hospitality. In the very
ordinary act of disagreeing over politics or God’s will for this world we learn
compassion and the beauty of diversity.
In the very ordinary laughter of children we see the love and joy of
Christ. As we take communion, in the very ordinary juice and bread of the
Lord’s table- we experience the unconditional love, compassion, forgiveness,
and grace of God.
We don’t
need exciting awe struck moments of revelation to know God. God has already given us enough to know God
better. All we need is to open our minds
enough to see that God is in and of all things.
That is the true spirit of wisdom that comes from a relationship with
Christ- not just knowing of Christ but knowing him as our personal Lord and
savior and desiring to know him more and more- knowing that there will never be
a time when we reach the limit and stop growing in our faith, loving him more,
or able to be in a deeper and more intimate relationship with him.
Like Paul’s
prayer to the church to have enough… God too wishes us enough. Enough joy to get us through times of
sadness, to know the love of God enough to get us through the times when we
don’t feel love from others. Enough hope
in a Christ who is risen from the dead to know that we can experience
resurrection in even our toughest situations.
Enough knowledge of the life of Christ, so that we can imitate his
character and love towards others. Enough
glimpses of the Holy Spirit so that we know we can trust its guiding and be
willing to follow. Enough ordinary
moments with God that we know that Christ is always with us. Open your heart enough to welcome Christ into
your life to taste and see the glory of God’s kingdom and to glimpse the
love God has for you- ordinary you- loved more deeply than you can ever
imagine.
[1] Copyright © 2001 Bob Parks --- Sent in
by Karen McGriff ---http://www.motivateus.com/stories/iwish2.htm
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