A Most Needed Revelation

“may  [you] have strength to comprehend . . . and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge”

Ephesians 3:18-19

So, on a good morning, I’d get up at around 4:30 to make my way downstairs for my quiet time with God.  And I am always aware that in about an hour from that time, Leah will begin to make her way to her special place in our home to spend uninterrupted communion with the Lord.   With two little, energetic kids, our “quiet times” truly are quiet.  Oh, what blessed peace and quiet!

And yet there was a time when that perfect peace would be interrupted by the loud grinding noise of the coffee percolator.  We have since stopped using this machine.  But what we appreciated about the percolator pot was the very pleasant aroma and taste it would produce.  The way it would achieve this quality of coffee is by taking the beans through a repeated churning cycle that extracts all of the negative parts, leaving a strong, pure brew when it is completed.

Chapter three of Ephesians, like many other Pauline passages, reveals the depths of Paul’s love and concern for those to whom he provided spiritual oversight.  The welfare and spiritual health of the church weighed heavily upon the apostle’s soul.  He knew that the challenges and opposition to their faith were great and unrelenting.  Nevertheless, Paul also seemed to believe that despite all of their struggles, they would be just fine if they could just somehow comprehend the infinite, unyielding love of God towards them.

Meditation Upon the Word of God

The percolation process of coffee beans provides a vivid metaphor of the spiritual value of meditating upon Divine truth.  Paul’s use of the word “comprehend” suggest the process of pursuing and gaining an accurate understanding of the depths of God’s love for the believer.  This happens as the Christian, through personal and group Bible study, digs deeply into the great doctrines of the faith, such as the Doctrine of Election, the Doctrine of Justification and the Doctrine of Adoption.  Good (sound) theology, far from being something we should avoid, actually serves the happiness of true believers, while rooting us more firmly in Christ.  We are made to experience the sweet aroma of God’s grace in all its richness and beauty.  It is in our delighting in the Word of God that we become like unmovable trees “planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season” (Ps. 1:2-3).

Seeking Knowledge Through Prayer

And yet, Paul also knew that all of the study in the world by itself could not bring believers into a more perfect knowledge of God’s love.  And that is why he uses another term in verse 19 (“to know”) which speaks of a knowledge that goes beyond factual data.  It is a knowledge that comes by direct experience.  In the context, Paul means to let these believers know that the love of God is something that must be revealed by the Holy Spirit through prayer.  As believers meditate upon the Word of God, and as we express our dependence upon the grace of God through ceaseless prayer, we may begin to understand with greater depth of understanding the incomprehensible love that God has for those in Christ Jesus.  And it is precisely this knowledge which makes all the difference in a world in which we will experience our share of hardships and suffering and personal failure.

So, go do some percolating.  Not the silly dance of the 1990s.  (Some of you may have understanding).  Meditate upon the great truths of the Christian faith.  And as you do, pray for spiritual enlightenment for yourself… and … for other believers.

In Him,

Pastor Mark