Verse for today – “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth; and to know  the love of Christ, that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.  (Eph. 3:17-19).”

At least no one can accuse Paul of having a small vision! In today’s verses Paul asks for a truck load of what we all need more than anything—to be filled up with God in all His fullness and completeness. This would mean His love, His wisdom, His kindness, and His generosity. Being filled up with Him would mean becoming forgiving, compassionate, gracious, and patient. I will not attempt to list all of God’s character qualities, but they are many and they are what our world desperately needs. We would see war and disagreements eliminated. We would see jealousy and hypocrisy no more. Our problems would be over and a new world begun! The only thing more exciting than Paul’s request for us to be filled up with the fullness of God is how we get there.

We get there by knowing Christ’s love in a deep, deep way. We get there by living by faith in Jesus and His work in each of our lives. He is the vine and we are to stay connected to Him so that His life can flow into us and through us. Jesus describes this connection we are to have with Him in John 15—He says that He is the vine and we are the branches. So, Paul prays for this to happen. I love this guy! His words make me wish he were alive today and praying for me. Speaking of which I will stop now and pray again for you.

Please remember that we are living lives of faith dear reader. I am not simply speaking words into the air, but calling on our great, loving, heavenly Father to hear and bless His children. I pray that you are blessed by God and that you become a blessing. I pray that you so understand the love of Christ that you are filled up to all of God’s fullness!

One last thought. Just in case you feel the need for more direct action steps in your journey with the Lord, they are coming soon. In the first three chapters of Ephesians we read and learn about who we are in Christ; but, in the last three chapters God gets very practical. In chapters four through six God challenges us to get busy with concrete steps of obedience. We will finish Paul’s prayer next, in the final verses of chapter three, but then we will begin a new and beautiful journey into obedience.