Many of us struggle to accept compliments. We respond with self- deprecation or dismissal mainly because we’re uncomfortable with focused appreciation and affection. What is it like then to receive the full, unmerited love of a holy God? It can be hard to accept and enjoy, which is why Paul prays for us and we respond in prayer and worship.

We all have opinions on what “church” should be: what we’re looking for, the needs we want met, the style of music and preaching, etc. But the letter to the Ephesians has shown God has plan for all things and He wants us, the church, to join in what He’s doing. What might happen if we checked our wants and emotions and, instead, pursued the calling He’s given us?

Human beings, like animals, tend to group together with those most like them. We naturally associate with those who look like us, talk like us, vote like us, live around us. The Gospel obliterates all those boundaries, however, and calls us into an entirely new group. God hasn’t just created a new identity for you and for me, but also for us together.

The world today is full of labels. Whether it’s about politics, sexuality, gender, career, income-level, it feels like we’re defined by a select number of nouns and adjectives. The Gospel says something completely different, however. There is only one identifying thing and that is simply Jesus Christ. This is who you are.

Knowing what the plan is and even what to do in it is one thing. Having the ability, however, to execute is an entirely other thing. We can’t do it on our own, whether it be cleaning up our lives, fixing our homes, or experiencing God. But God gives what He commands. He gives His Holy Spirit.

Sometimes we struggle to see the forest for the trees, whether we’re watching global affairs or just wondering if our little old lives mean anything in the big scheme of things. Are we just momentary blips passing through the cosmos? Is the world just heading toward chaos and destruction? Jesus is the answer! In Him both human beings and the world itself can be brought into perfect relationship with God.

What’s the point of life? What’s the point of this world? If one day we’re all just going to die, what about all this stuff we have around us? Is it really all about eating, drinking, and being merry or is life just about trying to one day just make it to heaven? Jesus’ full bodily resurrection proves to us, though, that God loves this world and has amazing plans for us not only in the future but for today as well!

As God created the heavens and the earth by speaking light into darkness, humanity’s sin and rebellion invited the darkness back in. In the cross, then, Jesus would take that darkness upon himself in order to defeat death in his own death.