Look Through Heaven's Eyes

Tag: ephesians

  • Is Too Much Even Possible

    Is Too Much Even Possible

    “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” ~Ephesians 3:20–21

    “ Julius, you ‘re doing too much again.” That is one of the most common phrases you will hear in our house. Just a few moments spent with Julius, and you can see the energy radiating off of him. Nothing he does is done in moderation. It’s always full steam ahead.  After the children’s message, his feet carry him swiftly down the aisle, causing him to zoom right past our pew. Those sitting around us might hear him asking, “How many more songs until we can flag?”. He can barely contain himself, ready to wave that flag proudly for the Lord.

    At home from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., you can hear his not-so-little voice, asking questions, making dramatic sound effects for his toys, or singing his favorite song. Amidst all of this will come the moments of tears because he bumped his head once again, the toy he was roughly playing with broke, or he has a scraped knee. After comforting him for the 20th time that day, I will say, “Julius, maybe if you weren’t doing too much all the time, you wouldn’t get hurt so much”.

    Lately, I’ve been thinking that I might be wrong. Yes, even moms get it wrong sometimes. (Don’t tell my husband, as far as he needs to know, I am in fact always right). However, maybe Julius’ full-throttle attitude is just being misdirected and is not what needs to be changed.

    I have spent the last month studying the book of Ephesians. The whole book is filled with reminders of the things that God has done for us. He’s adopted us as children, seated us in heavenly places, given us access to every spiritual blessing, and reached down and brought us back to life. The list is endless and doesn’t account for the specific ways He has shown up in our individual lives.

    When I reflect on all the wonderful things that God has done, extending all the way back to the beginning of time, I can’t help but come to the conclusion that nothing I do to worship God and bring glory to his name is ever “too much”. Nothing we do or give can compare to what God has already done and already given to us, not to mention all the things he’s currently doing and has yet to do. So maybe instead of telling Julius he’s doing “too much”, I should learn to redirect his full-throttle mindset into living a life full throttle for God. While also asking God for some of that energy so that I may be more like Julius, living a life full throttled for God with the perspective that nothing is ever “too much” for God

  • Back From The Dead

    Back From The Dead

    Julius came racing down the stairs, tears streaming, wailing loudly. Zaniya had left him alone in the playroom upstairs, something that usually doesn’t bother him. He often plays alone, so his panic caught me off guard. When he finally calmed down, he could only say one word: zombies. I’m not sure where he picked that up, but it was clear that he was terrified that if left alone, zombies would come for him. Of course, I comforted him and explained that zombies aren’t real. Later, when I was reading in Ephesians, with zombies on my mind, I couldn’t help but see the similarities.

    In Ephesians 2:1–3, Paul describes our condition before Christ: “You were dead in your trespasses and sins… following the course of this world… living in the passions of our flesh… by nature children of wrath.” Dead while walking. Controlled by the world and the flesh. Don’t tell Julius, but that sounds a little like zombies.

    I haven’t watched many zombie movies, but there’s been a pattern in the ones I have seen the world gets divided into three distinct groups:

    · Group 1: The zombies—infected, unaware, driven by their nature.

    · Group 2: The fearful—avoiding the infected at all costs, believing survival means isolation and elimination.

    · Group 3: The hopeful—convinced there’s a cure, willing to risk everything to save the infected.

    Spiritually speaking, we were all once in Group 1. But God, rich in mercy, sent His Son with the cure. Now that we’ve been made alive in Christ, how do we respond to those still trapped?

    Are we like Group 2—afraid of being “infected” again, praying for the downfall of the wicked, forgetting we were once the wicked? Or will we be like Group 3—believing in the cure, trusting in God’s power to redeem even the most lost, and proclaiming the good news with hope and compassion?