I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. – Ephesians 3:16-17
The apostle Paul, writing to the Ephesian church, wrote this beautiful and inspired description of the kind of love that our Savior has for those who call Him Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3).
When Jesus comes into our lives He does a work that no one else could ever do. He changes us from the inside out. Why? Because His love for us surpasses anything we have ever experienced. The process, of course, is ongoing, and Jesus never lets up, until we are totally His and we become a new creation, a brand new home for Him to dwell.
Of this transformation, C.S. Lewis beautifully writes:
“I think that many of us, when Christ has enabled us to overcome one or two sins that were an obvious nuisance, are inclined to feel (though we do not put it into words) that we are now good enough. He has done all we wanted him to do, and we should be obliged if he would leave us alone. But the question is not what we intended ourselves to be, but what he intended us to be when he made us…
Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what he is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on. You knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is he up to?
The explanation is that he is building quite a different house from the one you thought of, throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage, but he is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it himself.”*
How’s your new home coming along? Maranatha!
*C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
