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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I have procrastinated about this meditation to the point of panic, at least for those anxiously awaiting its arrival in their inboxes. Quite frankly, I wasn’t sure what to say. I was so enthusiastic when I felt led to the theme, “Encourage One Another with Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs, for such a time as this,” based on Ephesians and Esther, and what that might look like for our worship as a gathered body in November. But a few months into this position, my heart is heavy with a new reality of the struggles among us. I’ve also reveled in the delight of powerful, life-transforming, growing ministries shared within our District. As Brother John mentioned in his recent reflection, we are truly living between twin streams of polarization/denominational schism and winds of renewal.
So, I’ve prayed. And sought. And pondered how to live this theme for such a time as this. And I realize my only response is to point us to Jesus. When creativity fails, Jesus. When our love wanes, Jesus. When our hearts grow cold, Jesus. When our souls are discouraged, Jesus. When the storms rage, Jesus. And when creativity wins, Jesus. When love grows, Jesus. When our hearts are warmed by the flame of His love, Jesus. When our souls are encouraged, Jesus. When storms submit and subside, Jesus.
I want to call our attention to Ephesians, where we will spend most of our time together in preparation for the District Conference. Paul was writing to the church of Ephesus, which is modern-day Turkey. He had ministered there for three years, and those who came to faith in Christ were faced with secular cultural pressures and idol worship. Religious ideas were everywhere, including a large statue of Diana and a temple dedicated to her. People in that metropolitan seaport city were wondering how to really know the truth.
It seems that Paul wrote to the Ephesians to bring them back to the basics, to get them enthusiastic about their lives as followers of Jesus, and to convict them of what that really means. That is my hope and prayer as District Conference Moderator as well. When we read Ephesians today, we should feel the same power and excitement Paul intended for his first readers, and our awe should be renewed at the grace and mercy lavished upon us.
Paul opens this letter with a can’t-stop-for-a-breath fourteen-verse greeting and laudation of God the Father, Jesus the Christ, and the indwelling Holy Spirit, who, after receiving salvation through Jesus Christ, sealed us as God’s own possession. He proclaims that believers have received every spiritual blessing through our redemption, which includes the gift of eternal life, forgiveness of sins, the righteousness of Christ, deliverance, the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, holiness, peace with God, and adoption into God’s own family through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.
Those opening verses should course through us, pulsing life and breathing hope. Instead of wringing our hands in acquiescence that we’ve bound the work of God in our midst because of our disagreements and differences, we should feel renewed and awed and drenched in mercy. His love is endless, His creative power limitless and His grace immeasurable.
Our culture today is not unlike Ephesus. There are secular cultural pressures, religious ideas are everywhere, and idol worship is rampant. People are wondering how to really find and know the truth. It should be our greatest privilege to point them to Jesus Christ through the Living Word of God. This doesn’t mean projecting a false sense of unity, but it does mean walking in love. The harvest is plenty, but the workers are disenchanted, disillusioned, and soul-weary with division.
I urge you to pray the following prayer from Ephesians 1:15-23 with me for each other, that we receive the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of our hearts are enlightened so that we know the hope of our calling and the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.
For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Ephesians 1:15-23).
Every trial brings with it an opportunity. Brothers and Sisters, we have been called to lead for such a time as this. How will we respond?
In Kingdom Partnership,
Regina Cyzick Harlow
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