More Ephesians 1

(Ephesians 1: 3 The Message) How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.

God had us in mind before the universe was created!  Imagine that!  Not long ago I went to the Great Lakes Science Center and watched an IMAX movie about the Hubble Telescope.  It was NASA's greatest accomplishment, bar none!  As the astronauts made multiple trips to the orbiting telescope in space they would tinker with the lenses and adjust the focus (all with huge space suits and enormous gloves and helmets on!)  Eventually they managed to get the telescope to be able to take pictures of galaxies that are still forming light years away.  It was so incredible that I almost cried for the sheer wonder of it all.  All I could think of as I watched this movie was, "Isn't God amazing?"  To create all of this and allow humans to be able to capture it on film is simply beyond my human ability to comprehend.  


St. Paul tells us that it was not these forming stars or galaxies that are God's crowning glory but HUMANITY!  God has you in mind, and me in mind.  And oh what a mind God must have-- again beyond anything my human gray matter can even conceptualize.  How blessed we are to be in God's mind-- that is an amazing love if ever there was love!  


St. Paul continues his letter by saying he gives thanks for the Christian's faith, but not only that he asks for something else for them: I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength! 
What a request. . . that they would be intelligent about knowing God; that they would be discerning, and focused and clear about what God is up through Christ in each person's life.  
What is God up to?  It can be a scary thought; it can also be exciting and freeing and amazing all at the same time.  But Paul says it is a "glorious way of life" this life we have been called to in Christ! As glorious as those galaxies and stars, as glorious as anything we have ever seen or heard or experienced.  God is working in us!  I can't wait to see what comes next.  


Picture from smithsonianmag.com