We keep reaching for more—a better version of the Christian life, a deeper secret, some upgrade that will finally make everything click—when Ephesians 1 says God has already lavished wisdom and insight on us and made known the mystery of His will. What does it look like to actually live in that, rather than keep reaching past it?
We think we have everything under control and know how to anticipate our weaknesses, yet sin still sneaks up looking attractive and attacks when least expected. In Genesis 3 a crafty serpent made the forbidden tree seem good for food, a delight to the eyes, and desirable for wisdom.
We keep wanting peace now—the right circumstances, the right outcome, the right person in charge—and that hunger is not wrong, just misdirected. In Luke 19:41–44, Jesus weeps over a city shouting for peace while blind to the only kind that lasts, and his tears raise an uncomfortable question about what we're actually seeking when we seek it.
There's always one thing we'd rather not put on the table when God asks us to give something up—and we usually know exactly what it is. In Luke 18, a rich man walks away from Jesus grieving because that one thing is precisely what Jesus names, and the disciples' stunned question in response—”then who can be saved?”—turns out to be our question too.
Most of us have something we'd rather not put on the table before God—something we're holding just tightly enough that we hope He won't notice. In Luke 18, a ruler who has kept the commandments since his youth comes to Jesus asking what he still must do to inherit eternal life, and Jesus names exactly the one thing he isn't ready to hear.
Pastor Tim helps us think about the next question in the New City Catechism (“How does the Holy Spirit help us?”) as we continue to explore how God the Holy Spirit helps us.
Melanie helps us think about the next question in the New City Catechism (“What do we believe about the Holy Spirit?”) as we continue to explore how God the Holy Spirit is with us.
