“I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”  Ephesians 3:16-17

June is the month of new beginnings.  It seems each week we are attending a graduation, a graduation party or a wedding.  For each person, it is a new chapter in their lives, a new beginning where decisions with lifetime implications are being made.  A wedding is a joyous occasion, the beautiful bride and the handsome groom ride off into the sunset and begin a new home together.   I have two grandchildren who graduated from high school and one from a university this month and I will be attending their parties.

After all the “congratulations” and “good jobs” are spoken, what do I really wish for them?  I think how quickly they have grown up!  It seems like only days ago they were sitting in car seats and needing constant attention.  Memories raced through my head, pictures of my grandson canoeing down the river with his dad, or my granddaughter coming “home” to us from China, or my grandson enjoying summer camp.  What a blessing they were to our family!  I could wish them success in their next step, their college days ahead or their employment opportunities, but what do I really want for my grandchildren?  My deepest desire was “for Christ to live in their hearts through faith, that He would strengthen them with power through His Holy Spirit.  And I would pray that they would be rooted and established in love, and power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – and be filled to the measure with all the fullness of God,” Ephesians 3:16-19.  What else in life really mattered?

I remember a time when my son was in university and filled with doubts as to his salvation.  As I was taking him back to school, he was driving, I tried to talk to him about the eternal security of the believer, but he just couldn’t see it my way.  If he wasn’t sure, couldn’t he just pray the sinner’s prayer again?  I always knew he had a tender heart for hurting people and was a true shepherd.  In my mind he should get right to the task and use the gifts God had given him!  However, my way was not God’s way.  I opened my Bible and it fell on Ephesians 3:16-19.  A tear rolled down my cheek as I read the verses.  These were all the things I prayed for my son, especially that he would be “rooted and established in the love of Christ,” like plants with deep roots or a building with a solid foundation.  My prayer did get answered in God’s perfect time.  The Lord had a path for him that he needed to travel and God brought him peace with the knowledge that he was truly one of His children.

The Apostle Paul wanted believers to know “the length, width, height and depth of the love of God!”  That means he wanted us to know something that is beyond our capacity to grasp!  The God of the Bible is inexhaustible! There is no end to knowing God and the “great love He has for us!”   God can work exceedingly abundantly beyond our wildest dreams!  But it is according to the power that HE works in us!

Your friend, Jean