Opened Eyes

Ephesians 1:18-19: " I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe."

What a tremendous passage for the Church. So often, we become ensnared by the trials and tribulations of this world that we lose sight of all the benefits that God has afforded to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Most assuredly, these benefits are not the result of our vain accomplishments (Eph. 2:1-3); rather, they are "lavished" (1:8) upon us according to "God's good pleasure" (1:9) and His "love" (1:4).

These benefits that we receive include (1) the riches of His glorious inheritance; (2) His incomparably great power for us who believe . . . . which gives us as His workmanship, the ability to do good works for His kingdom (2:10); (3) our access to God the Father through the Holy Spirit (2:18) with freedom and confidence (3:12); (4) our bodies being the presence where God chooses to live by His Spirit (2:22); (5) our ability to be strengthened by the power of God (3:16) . . . the one who is "able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us (3:20)."

For those true believers who would tend to fall prey to the difficulties of life, these verses should be seen as "good news" that God has lavished upon His children. We all have seen how people respond to winning the lottery or the sweepstakes; yet, we seldom see believers with such exuberance. We need to move toward this enlightenment, so that we can with a positive countenance tap into the immeasurable riches that God has granted to us through His Son.