City Life Starter

Written by Blesson Selvanesan

The Word

₁₈ And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, ₁₉ speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, ₂₀ giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Ephesians 5:18-20 (NKJV)

Interpretation

Blaise Pascal, the great French mathematician once said “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.” Man’s attempt to fill this vacuum with anything else other than God has been futile over the ages. We in our fallen nature have tried our best to substitute God with so many other things to achieve joy. Instead these counterfeit vices only gave us momentary pleasures and made the vacuum even bigger, making us feel even more empty. Being filled with wine will lead to an immoral and perverted living.

Paul noticed as we see even today that people tried to fill themselves with wine and the pleasures of world. What we are filled with, controls our action. Paul urges people to be filled the Spirit, and walking in Spirit will lead to a righteous life. He exhorts everyone to make melody in hearts with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, and giving thanks for all things all the time. If we are filled with God, our actions will be godly.

Application

What do we try to fill ourselves with? We see people ruin theirs and others’ lives by being filled with wine, worldly ambitions and wicked desires. People are full of themselves and believe that they always deserve the best and are thankless, unappreciative of what they have and ungrateful to others. We need to be thankful and joyful for everything under all circumstances. This joyful attitude will make our walks light, our minds clear, and our hearts clean. When was the last time we sang a song while doing our daily chores? When did we hum a tune to worship our savior? Let us not underestimate the importance of psalms and hymns in our personal worship. Worshipping God is not a Sunday only affair but is a lifestyle! What are we full of?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help us to be full of Holy Spirit. Let our hearts rejoice in your goodness and let us make melody in our heart and sing praises to you continually today. Help us to be joyful in spite of all our difficult circumstances and be thankful to you always. In Jesus name, amen.