Ephesians 3:16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
This prayer is aimed at helping the church see the Lord’s bigger picture.
This past weekend I went with my Dad and my brothers to the NCAA Final Four Men's Basketball games in Houston. It was an awesome experience! And it was big. Everything was big. Big crowds. Big concerts. Big buildings. Big signs. Big prices. Big traffic. Big city. I was really overwhelmed by the bigness of it all.
God’s kingdom is big. The prayer in Ephesians 3 focuses on helping followers of Jesus to step back and get a panoramic view of that Big Kingdom:
· Grasp how wide and long and high and deep is Jesus Christ’s love!
· Filled with fullness of God!
· Doing immeasurably more by the Lord’s power in us!
· Glorifying God for ever and ever!
It’s more than we can imagine, but it’s definitely worth trying. Because when we step back and look, we realize that the Lord is doing something that is eternally impressive…bigger than we ever thought. The Lord is up to a big mission! And it is awesome!
So, this week as we pray, let’s ask the Lord to open up our eyes a little more to see a bigger picture. Big love. Big service. Big faith. Big salvation. Big kingdom. Big hope. Big future. Big mission. The Big Kingdom!
(Did I overuse the exclamation point in this blog? Well, the Big Kingdom is superlative and deserves the super-emphasis.)
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