Issue 10 - Day 4

Ephesians 3

Ephesians 3:16-19
16)  That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17)  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18)  May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
19)  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Another prayer of Paul here, and he really pulls no punches! In the following verse he says this is asked of Christ who can do even more! Strengthened, rooted and grounded. I am seeing this all over scripture at the moment, which is a sure sign that God really wants us to get it, or that someone is not paying attention. I was struck just now by the realisation that like trees and plants, the only part we play in this is to take in the nourishment given to us, and put it into growth, producing fruit. It is the farmer that puts in good soil, waters us, cares for us and strengthens us. Ask God to water your life.

God has given us his Spirit in us, and we need to open our lives up so that he can dwell in us, not just pay a visit. For a while, a few years ago, I lived, and worked in Slough. To shop I headed for a big supermarket, and never got to know the local shops. For church we travelled to another nearby town. We made no friends locally, but kept up with our friends from further afield. Not having children at that point we did not get involved in the local schools, carnivals, fetes and so on. So I lived there, I worked there, but I did not dwell there. Here in Bermondsey it is a different story, and we have become part of the community. That is how God wants to be in us, an integral part of every area of our lives.