Take a Step Back

As I walked past a large mosaic mural the other day, it struck me that up close, it really did just look like a bunch of shattered clay pieces laid side by side one another, with no apparent order or cohesion. And yet, as I stood back, it stopped me in its tracks.  Every piece was not only needed, but it wonderfully contributed to the bigger picture, unfolding with increasing glory with each backward step.

It struck me that the Christian life can often feel like this.  Up close, it all feels a little messy.  Sin feels ever-present, spiritual growth feels slow, and church can often feel fragile and weak.  We live in an increasingly secular age, imploring us to elevate self over others.  And when we’re in the midst of all this, isn’t it all too easy to just feel a little dulled to Christ, and the gospel?

Into all this, we’re given Ephesians. A letter imploring us to step back and see the bigger picture.  And by bigger, what we really mean is cosmic.  You see, as Paul writes, he intends to flood our hearts and minds with the power, authority, love and grace of Christ, on a cosmic scale.  He wants us to deeply know to our very core, how much we are loved, and how much we have been given in Christ.  And he wants us to be in no doubt of God’s glorious and eternal purposes for his Church.  Why?  So that, as we grasp the bigger picture, we will continue to stand firm in the Lord, confident of his purposes, however small and weak things feel in the day to day.

Whether this is a book that’s familiar to you, or you’re just stepping into it, what a gift that we have words in the Bible that are deliberately seeking to sure us up in Christ, helping us to stand firm, whatever may be threatening to blow us off course. Are you ready to join us as we dig in together?  We can’t wait.