Ephesians 3:14-21 (NRSV)
Read Ephesians 3:14-21 on biblegateway.com
Verse 14For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, Verse 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. Verse 16I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, Verse 17and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love. Verse 18I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, Verse 19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Verse 20Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, Verse 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Devotion
"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us..." (Ephesians 3:20)
Imagination is a wonderful and powerful gift! When our children were little, they could turn a cardboard box into a space ship or an empty paper towel tube into a telescope. As we grow and mature, sometimes we lose the gift of imagination.
In verse 20, Saint Paul reminds us that the Spirit still inspires imagination. God still plants the seeds of dreams. Through the power of prayer and of His Spirit, God can instill in us hopes and dreams beyond what is possible on our own.
I think of Barb and Doris, who imagined a "neighborhood clothes closet." It now clothes thousands of needy children. Or Mike and Ann, who imagined a food pantry that now feeds hundreds of families. There are countless other examples of God's power and ability to do far more than we ask or imagine. Look around you today and behold the power of divine imagination!
Prayer
Giver of all good gifts, thank you for the gift of imagination and dreams. May your Spirit open us to new hopes and dreams and help us to see the evidence of the power of God to bless such imagination. Amen.