City Life Starter

Written by Megan Meier

The Word

“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…”

Ephesians 3:14-17a (NKJV)

Reflection

Paul is interceding for the world church, while wrongfully imprisoned. It’s amazing he’s not asking the Ephesians to pray for him or to get him out, but for the unity of the church and strengthening of each Christ-follower. Throughout his letter, he continually emphasizes the unity of the church; that we are a huge family and God is the grand patriarch. Our patriarch is rich and generous, He will provide us with His Spirit to get us through the tough times (like any good father and as much as it pains Him, He wants His children to build character) as life was (and still is) very difficult, especially for Christ-followers.

Paul is praying not for ease of life, and certainly not for an easier life for himself, but for strong character. There is an African proverb that says “Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors.” The goal of our lives isn’t a smooth sea, completely free of problems, we have to wait until Heaven for that. God wants to make us skillful sailors so we can be more like Jesus and reach those marooned. The whole point of character-building is becoming more Christ-like and leading others to Him. 

Application

If you want to see what’s in your heart, look at what you pray for most often (this can be quite sobering). Planting and pruning the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) helps us to grow the character tree in our hearts. Jesus emphasizes hard times make one closer to God with the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). 1 Corinthians 13 clarifies the definition and necessity of love. Practicing godly character traits will lead to a Christ-like reputation and non-believers will look at you and wonder what you have that makes you that way and want it themselves. 

Prayer

Dear Jesus, please forgive me if I’ve been selfish. Help me to think and pray more for others than myself. Help me to grow into Christ-like character and lead others to You. In Your Name I pray, amen.