Listen

At one time you were like a dead person because of the things you did wrong and your offenses against God. You used to live like people of this world. You followed the rule of a destructive spiritual power. This is the spirit of disobedience to God’s will that is now at work in persons whose lives are characterized by disobedience. At one time you were like those persons. All of you used to do whatever felt good and whatever you thought you wanted so that you were children headed for punishment just like everyone else.

Ephesians 2:1-3

Think

We now enter Ephesians where the writer is trying to help an established church to get back on track.

The context is that there were disagreements of theology, regulations being weaponized against one another, and a general forgetfulness of what brought this church together in the first place: Faith.

So after some greeting and groundwork of chapter 1, chapter 2 begins with the calling out of what is going on, namely, we have lost our way and are succumbing to the influences and ways of the world that are not good for our bodies, hearts, minds, and souls. Not only that, but we should know better. In fact, we have known better, so this is a chance to reflect on who we once were and how we may have lost our way.

Future chapters lay out specifics, which should be examined carefully, but for now we begin with a challenge to remember why we are the church in the first place.

Bruce Reyes-Chow

Question to Ponder:

How do we examine our faith?

Pray

Inhale: God, you are here.

Exhale: Grant me the courage to examine my faith in you.

Go

Go forth into the world with justice and compassion in your heart.

Amplify voices of the long silenced.

Name strength in that which has been deemed weak.

Hear one another.

See one another.

Care for one another.

And love one another.

It’s all that easy.

And it’s all that hard.