God’s power at work in Jesus' resurrection
Daily Scripture
Ephesians 1:18-23
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart will have enough light to see what is the hope of God’s call, what is the richness of God’s glorious inheritance among believers, 19 and what is the overwhelming greatness of God’s power that is working among us believers. This power is conferred by the energy of God’s powerful strength. 20 God’s power was at work in Christ when God raised him from the dead and sat him at God’s right side in the heavens, 21 far above every ruler and authority and power and angelic power, any power that might be named not only now but in the future. 22 God put everything under Christ’s feet and made him head of everything in the church, 23 which is his body. His body, the church, is the fullness of Christ, who fills everything in every way.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
“His body, the church, is the fullness of Christ”—strong words! Yet that was the apostle Paul’s description of Christ’s church. (In his day “church” didn’t mean mainly buildings or policies, but deeply committed people who served God and their community together. Ideally, it still means that today.) As it lives out its divine purpose, the church is where God’s people can live into God’s power more fully—the breathtaking cosmic power at work on Easter as Christ rose from the dead (verse 20).
-
In verses 18-19, Paul prayed that “the eyes of your heart” will be able “to see what is the hope of God’s call, what is the richness of God’s glorious inheritance among believers, and what is the overwhelming greatness of God’s power that is working among us believers.” How would seeing that kind of hope and power at work daily in your life change your worship and your workdays? How did your Easter celebration attune you more fully to God’s awesome power?
-
Christ “fills everything in every way” (verse 23). Christian thinker Dallas Willard said the Greek word mainly translated “heaven” (which we see as very far away) was often plural— “heavens.” “Heavens” (i.e., skies) took in the very air around us. He wrote, “The Judeo-Christian witness sees space as full of God…. God occupies and overflows space…. we should assume that space is anything but empty.” * When, if ever, have you sensed God near you? In what ways can Easter help you see God, not as distant, but as close as the air you breathe?
Prayer
Dear God, you are awesomely great and wonderfully good. Your great power and gracious goodness are on my side, offering purpose and life. I thank and praise you! Amen.
GPS Insights
Leah Swank-Miller
Leah Swank-Miller serves as Director of Student Ministries at Resurrection Overland Park. A Kansas native, she has been a professional actress for nearly two decades, and she loves to see the vastness of God’s creation through theatre and the arts. Leah is pursuing an M.Div. from Saint Paul School of Theology. Leah, Brian, and their two children love to play tennis, golf, soccer, and board games.
On my way home last Friday night, I was fortunate to witness the glorious Kansas sunset. Growing up in the Midwest, sunsets have always been one of my favorite things. I watched the sun go from a bright golden hue to burnt orange rays to a vibrant magenta-pink sky. However, this time, I watched through tears. I was heading home from a hospital visit where I joined our church community and many others to worship, pray, and bring hope to our dear pastor friend and her family as they walk through the unimaginable. I saw a collection of people, some family, some friends, and some strangers, sing and pray together and unite in love. And through our collective tears, prayers, and singing, we felt Resurrection hope on Good Friday.
Reflecting as I drove home, I was struck by the progression of the sunset and God’s beautiful creation at work. I was reminded that there is no place we can go where God’s love is not. There is no distance we can run or depth of grief we can feel where God will not also be with us. From the sun’s rising to the setting of the same and in all the progressions and spectrums of life, God’s amazing love and power pervades.
As God’s power pervades throughout our lives, it may not always be felt in the way we anticipate. What happens when that sun sets, and we are left sitting in the dark? We know the sun will rise again; that’s the promise of a new day. We’ve seen it every day of our life. But we still must wait out the darkness. That is the same when sitting through the dark night of the soul. We wonder if the sun will rise again and if hope will return. We wait to see Christ leave the tomb. Paul reminds us that we, the church, are called to bring that light of hope in the darkness, to bear witness to the hope of the Resurrection. But friends, I’ve come to know that many times, being “the fullness of Christ,” as Paul describes, looks a lot like sitting in the dark with those in need, not having the answers or knowing what will happen next. Just waiting in the dark for the sun to rise again. Being living, breathing hope that the worst thing is not the last thing, even into death. Because in all the progressions of life’s sunsets, God’s power pervades. That is the hope we have in the Resurrection life.
© 2024 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering our Hidden Life in God. HarperSanFrancisco, 1997, key phrases excerpted from a longer section on pp. 73-77.
