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24 September 2007
Ephesians 5 v 1-2
You are God's children whom he loves, so try to be like him. Live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself for us as a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesus was the third biggest city in the Roman Empire, and one of the richest! The Ephesians were a bunch of hard-nosed businesspeople who valued riches and success. They worshipped the goddess Diana, and consulted star signs to see what the future held in store for them. Their lives - and even their worship! - revolved around what the world could do for them.
You can imagine the new Christians in Ephesus must have been quite pleased with this new God. This God was powerful - they had seen Paul performing great healings and miracles (Acts 19) - so what could this God do for them?
In this passage, Paul, the author, turns this kind of thinking on its head. He says - don't ask what God can do for you, ask what you can do for God. The answer is simple; "Live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us."
What a shock for the materialistic and self-centred Ephesians! What a shock it can be for us today, in a world that pushes us to get better grades, more money, a bigger house, a good car. We sometimes tend to come to God with a wish list, thinking that we need all these things to be valued but forgetting that God already values us the way we are. He values us so much that he wants us to be like him, to live a life filled with the kind of selfless love that Christ exhibited when he "offered himself up for us".
Today look for opportunities to turn the world's values on its head by looking to do some service for someone else, not for reward but just because you can.
Heavenly Father, thank you that you are always looking to do the best things for us. Thank you that you loved us and gave yourself up for us. Help us to be loving and selfless in our dealings with other people, so that we can become more like you. Amen.
Written by David Redfield
Ephesians 5 v 1-2
You are God's children whom he loves, so try to be like him. Live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself for us as a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God.
Ephesus was the third biggest city in the Roman Empire, and one of the richest! The Ephesians were a bunch of hard-nosed businesspeople who valued riches and success. They worshipped the goddess Diana, and consulted star signs to see what the future held in store for them. Their lives - and even their worship! - revolved around what the world could do for them.
You can imagine the new Christians in Ephesus must have been quite pleased with this new God. This God was powerful - they had seen Paul performing great healings and miracles (Acts 19) - so what could this God do for them?
In this passage, Paul, the author, turns this kind of thinking on its head. He says - don't ask what God can do for you, ask what you can do for God. The answer is simple; "Live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us."
What a shock for the materialistic and self-centred Ephesians! What a shock it can be for us today, in a world that pushes us to get better grades, more money, a bigger house, a good car. We sometimes tend to come to God with a wish list, thinking that we need all these things to be valued but forgetting that God already values us the way we are. He values us so much that he wants us to be like him, to live a life filled with the kind of selfless love that Christ exhibited when he "offered himself up for us".
Today look for opportunities to turn the world's values on its head by looking to do some service for someone else, not for reward but just because you can.
Heavenly Father, thank you that you are always looking to do the best things for us. Thank you that you loved us and gave yourself up for us. Help us to be loving and selfless in our dealings with other people, so that we can become more like you. Amen.
Written by David Redfield
