David Bahn – Reflections

Ephesians 1:15-22

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, ¹⁶ I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ¹⁸ having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might ²⁰ that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²² And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

God calls us to “ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown.” These words from an ancient prayer begin to express the reality of living in faith, hope, and love as God’s people. Hope propels us toward the future of God’s design, not our own. Hope points us toward a tomorrow that is not yet in hand. It delineates a course of life far beyond the mundane. Hope even requires courage. For the character Red in the movie The Shawshank Redemption has it right: “hope is a dangerous thing.”

Hope puts opens hearts to the possibility of favor and blessing. But these favors and blessings are not yet realized; and to gain them we must let go of today and reach for that which today is beyond our reach. Disappointment is possible. That’s the danger. Too often we kill our hearts’ desires, dreams, and hopes because we do not want to be disappointed. We dull our hopes. We deaden our hearts. We deny our dreams. And in doing so we thwart the adventure of faith and the joy of a hope-filled life to which God calls us.

So Paul prays that the Ephesian Christians would know hope, look toward the riches of God’s inheritance, and live in the power of the resurrection. Therefore we pray, (to quote the ending of the ancient prayer): “Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”