Picture a ramshackle gold rush town full of down-on-their-luck prospectors, and there's you, sitting alone at the saloon, depressed at the little you have to show for all your efforts. Inwardly, you're kicking yourself for being such a fool who would think that little ol' you would be one of the few who would strike it rich. Then all of a sudden, in a burst of whoopin' and hollerin', in comes the guy who started it all -- the man who long ago found the first vein of gold in these hills -- and now he's shouting something about a new deposit and about there being enough for everyone! And he walks straight over to you, plops himself onto a stool next to you and says, "Hey! How 'bout I grant you a share of my riches?" You're speechless. You stare back at him. He laughs and says, "I'm serious! Out of all the riches of my claim, I want you to have a share!"
Now fast-forward to today, and picture you or me sitting alone on a couch brooding over a stew of self-recriminating thoughts, and getting discouraged at some character flaw or some circumstance that we feel defeated by. Then all of a sudden, the door flies open with a burst of light and in walks the resurrected Jesus! And He walks right over to you, plops Himself onto the couch next to you and with a big grin says, "Hey! How 'bout I grant that you, according to the riches of My glory, be strengthened with power from the Holy Spirit living in you, so that I can keep you rooted and grounded in My love? Hey?! How about that?! I grant that you should have some of the riches of My glory!"
That's Ephesians 3:16. God wants to grant wonderful things to us from the great wealth of His glory! It's like if I had a billion dollars, and said that according to the riches in my bank account, I want to grant you a few things, then you'd be correct in understanding that you just got in on the riches of my bank account. And God wants to remind us that according to the riches of His glory, He wants to grant us the strength and grounding that comes when Christ dwells in our hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:17). That means we're getting in on the riches of His glory!
That encourages me. It excites me. It's meant to get us up off that couch -- or out of that saloon -- and celebrating in the streets! God is sharing the claim He made at Golgotha with me! New life is mine! I have strength from God because of His Spirit living in me! I'm rooted and grounded in Jesus, never to be uprooted by anything or anyone ever again (Eph. 3:16-17)! And now I can actually begin to comprehend -- with all the saints -- what is the width and length and depth and height of the amazing love of Jesus, which is beyond complete understanding (Eph. 3:18-19)!
There's no greater gift that could be given to us! As God grants us gifts from His infinite glory, we are "filled with all the fullness of God" (Eph. 3:19)! Let that lift us from any temptation to feel down on our luck!
© 2015 by Ken Peters
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