We tend to complicate Christianity with a lot of extraneous ideas. There are lists of do’s and don’ts and ideas about how to dress or eat. Perhaps we trip up on some portion of Scripture we don’t understand. The list goes on and on with things that are really minor compared to the big picture.
In my 60-plus years of being in the ministry, I’ve majored on a lot of minors. I have come to see that the major thing in the Christian life is a relationship with God. As we develop this relationship, we understand Him better and find His power to have right priorities in our lives.
God opened the way to this relationship when He so loved the world that He gave us His son. (John 3:16). Jesus’ death on the cross paid for our short comings and sins. God’s willingness to give of Himself through His son Jesus, shows us how much He really loves us.
Jesus invited us into a relationship when He said “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). We just have to stop struggling with heavy burdens, and admit our need for help. The invitation is to come to Him by faith and take His offer of forgiveness. This relationship of forgiveness helps us see that God is serious about having a relationship with us.
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In Ephesians 3, Paul is encouraging people to discover and partake in all that this relationship provides. He uses three pictures to describe how to go deeper into this relationship: “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love” — Ephesians 3:17.
- Dwell: The Greek pictures feeling at home. Jesus invites us to come and feel at home with Him. It is like when you visit a friend and settle down and relax. We show our respect for Him, as we accept His grace and mercy. We learn to rest in our relationship of grace (God not giving us what we deserve) and of mercy (God giving to us what we do not deserve).
- Rooted: This pictures roots going deep for stability and also to find the needed water. That is why Christ is called the fount of life. As we let our spiritual roots of faith go deep into Christ, we find our lives steadied and the nourishment we need to grow.
- Established: The idea is having a solid foundation. Often our problem is that we have not established, by faith in Christ, a foundation on which to build our lives. Jesus in His parable of building a house on sand or a rock (Matthew 7:24), warned about whether we are building on His word or shifting philosophies of society. By building on the rock Jesus, we can withstand the storms of life.
Don’t complicate your life by trying to answer questions that only faith in Jesus can give. The Old Testament shows God trying to build a relationship with humankind and the New Testament shows how it was accomplished in Jesus. Hebrews 1:1,2: “Long ago God spoke in many different ways to our fathers through the prophets, in visions, dreams, and even face to face, telling them little by little about his plans. But now in these days he has spoken to us through his Son to whom he has given everything and through whom he made the world and everything there is.”
Discover Jesus by reading the New Testament and asking God to reveal Himself to you. Perhaps start with the Gospel of Mark, the most direct, clear Gospel. Listen to His spirit as He offers you a relationship with Him through His son Jesus.
Bill Gaube
Faculty concerned about changes to U of A admissions policy
