We're Not Dead Yet

“For this reason I now bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit . . .” Ephesians 3:14-15
I love this phrase, “strengthened in your inner being.”

The author of Ephesians is tapping into something I believe in wholeheartedly. For so long we as people, especially Baptists, have neglected an intricate part of life – our inner being. I feel like it was lost or overlooked during the Revivalistic Era in America which put so much energy into saving souls and getting people into Heaven. This is an important time period in Baptist History but we overlooked what to do with the people who claim Jesus as the Lord and haven’t died yet. What do the Christians do after they accept Jesus and aren't dead yet?

My answers are: Become more like Christ. Learn to commune with our Creator. Join in the Biblical narrative. Partner with God. Become fully human. In short, strengthen your inner being.

But this notion of strengthening your inner being is scary. I think most people’s fear comes in not knowing. “What happens? How do I know I am communing? Am I supposed to feel something or hear something?”

These are appropriate questions. And my pastoral answer is, ‘yes.’ Sometimes you will think you hear God. I am a big proponent that if you slow your life down enough you will hear the voice of God speaking to you. Other times you will just know you are communing. You will tap into the centeredness of your life and you will instantly know you are ‘being’ with God. Sometimes you will feel God. It feels as if a blanket is wrapped around your heart.

Even this, though, can be scary— if you are not used to it.

But Jesus came to us to help us overcome our fear of God. As long as we are afraid of God, we cannot love God. Love means intimacy, closeness, mutual vulnerability, and a deep sense of safety. But all of those are impossible as long as there is fear. Fear creates suspicion, distance, defensiveness, and insecurity.

The greatest block in a spiritual life is fear. Prayer, meditation, and education cannot come forth out of fear. God is perfect love and perfect love drives out fear.

So don’t hesitate to run to God, be with God, speak with God, or listen to God. Ephesians’ message is that God loves us with an unconditional love and desires our love, free from all fear, in return.

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