You’ll not go wrong if you do this…

“You will not go wrong if you plunge yourself into Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.  Master it.  Be mastered by it.  Work Ephesians into your thinking, your living, your prayers, and your conversation.”

— David Powlinson

I read these words from the late David Powlinson around six years ago, and they have stuck with me ever since.  Words of confidence.  Words of experience, of someone who has lived them out.  And words of wisdom, of someone who knows that to deliberately entrench oneself in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians will never be a waste of time.

And to his credit, I believed him and acted on his exhortation.  For the last six years, Ephesians has been my near constant companion as I’ve sought to work it into my thinking, my living, my prayers and my conversation, largely by committing it to memory.  It’s been a slow and steady endeavour, carved into the quiet before my family awakes.  Nothing flashy.  Nothing impressive.  And yet, let me tell you: he was not wrong. 

You see, to work Ephesians into our thinking and living, is to inscribe an enormous view of Christ, and his Church onto our hearts.  To be praying through its verses means praying big picture prayers to know Christ and his love better, and to rejoice in his Church all the more, even when it’s hard.  And the more that this letter has got under my skin, the more it’s flowed from my heart to my lips, and then to those around me. 

There’s no set way for following Powlinson’s advice.  Felicity and I have differed on how Ephesians has kept us company over the years.  But we both agree on this: it has been, and continues to be a foundational book in the Bible for us, and we cannot wait to come together and talk about it over the coming weeks.

How about you? Whether Ephesians is brand new to you, or whether it’s more like a familiar walk in the park, why not take Powlinson’s advice and plunge yourself into it over the coming months.  You’ll not go wrong.