When the apostle Paul was a prisoner in Rome, he wrote the church in Ephesus. That letter is known as the Book of Ephesians in the bible. Ephesus was a beautiful city that served as the Roman capitol of Asia. That region is present day Turkey. Paul was delighted with the church at Ephesus because of two reasons. First, he had heard of their faith in Christ, and secondly, he had heard of their love for all the believers.
In his letter, Paul informed them of his prayers for them and also taught major doctrines of faith.
A portion of one of those prayers is a prayer that I pray for my children, grandchildren and all people I know. It is in Ephesians 1:17-19:
“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”
Certainly Paul said a lot in those few inspired words. First, we all need a revelation of the amazing knowledge of Christ. Then Paul prays that the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened to see the true hope of His calling, which is the glory of His eternal inheritance planned for you. Paul was praying that people would know about the surpassing power of God in their lives. What a source of confidence the power of God gives us as we go through the trials of life!
Probably no one first receives Jesus as savior with a full understanding of all He is or all He requires. But when we are faithful to Him, we have steady increase in faith and all that Christ has for us in our lives.
So, encourage your friends to remain faithful to Jesus by staying in bible study, staying in prayer, staying in church fellowship and staying in Christian service.
The quality of faithfulness in your life to God and Christian teachings has a quiet, steady reward that sooner or later transforms your faith and life into who God would have you to be. And that is important for you and for your family. It is also important to the kingdom of God.
We each leave our descendants a legacy. Let your spiritual legacy be one which shows you faithfulness. The chorus to Steve Green’s song says:
Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful
Dr. Roger Holl is pastor of Sterling Grace Community Church. The church meets Sundays at 10:30 at the Sterling Senior Center. All ages are welcome.
