Thoughts for the Day

I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

The bottom of our garden is a wilderness, and includes what should be a bush, but has been allowed to grow into a tree. It's an ordinary buddleia that grows wild along the railway lines. I cut off some branches last year and planted we squashes nearby, but the tree simply exploded with new growth and kept the area too dark for the plants underneath. So this spring I have attacked the tree to get it under control, and am now clearing some land behind and alongside it to grow potatoes. If the amount of worms in the soil are anything to go by I should have better luck.

At the end of Chapter 3 in his letter to the Ephesians Paul prays that they may be strengthened by the Holy Spirit. From the beginning of his letter he has been trying to convince them that God's plan is to create unity in the chaos of the world and that all should be brought together in Christ. But this cannot happen unless the people, that is the body of Christ, carry God's message of love to the world. Paul knows how hard the task is, and that opposition from Jews, Greeks, and Romans will be immense, so that their lives may well be forfeit.

Paul wants these new Christians to be "rooted and grounded in love". He wants their faith to continue growing, and their conviction in God's plan to be strengthened, as the Holy Spirit gives them the power to continue God's work. Like tender plants in amongst the chaos of a garden that has been left untended for too long, they will need to be rooted and grounded in good soil if they are to succeed amongst the vigorous weeds. In other words they will need to bed rooted and grounded in God's love to succeed against the evil around them. Today, may we pray for all Christians, for although most of us may not be killed for our faith, the opposition is as vigorous as ever though much more subtle.

Lord Jesus Christ,
enable us to see that we need
Your help to flourish as Christians
in a secular world that sees no need for You.
Help us to cope with the
snubs and ridicule that
our faith can bring from others
and to pray for them continually.
Show us how to impart our love for You
in word and action to those around us,
and keep us rooted and grounded
in Your love.
Amen.