Praising Others and Lifting Them Up in Christ - Ephesians 1:15-23

When parents hear that their kids have done something great, doesn't that fill them with incredible joy? I am especially proud of my kids when they make good decisions and are loving to others. But, what more joy would it be than when I hear that children are being faithful to Jesus?

When our children do great things, are we letting them know we are proud of them? Do they feel our love for them?

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Ephesians 1:15-23
¹⁵ For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, ¹⁶ I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, ¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, ¹⁸ having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹ and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might ²⁰ that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. ²² And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
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Paul heard of the great things that the Ephesian saints were doing through faith in Jesus. Furthermore, they were showing love toward all the saints. As Christians, love is the by-product, or the evidence, of our faith and our trust in God. Because they were faithful to God and had that relationship with Christ, they poured out love to their fellow saints. We are called to do the same to our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

This prayer from Paul is a great example of what I should be praying for my kids. My greatest desire is for them to know God and have a personal relationship with Him through faith. Because of faith, God, the Father of glory, freely gives us the Holy Spirit to reveal His will by providing us with the wisdom we need. I hope that the Holy Spirit will work on the hearts of my children so that they may see the will of God in their lives. 

Paul says that we are the glorious inheritance of God. We are incredibly precious to Him because of the cost required to pay the ransom for our sins. But we need to have hearts that are open and seeking Him. It will be very difficult for us to ‘see’ the will of God with our ‘eyes’ closed. When the eyes of our hearts are opened, then we have the hope of understanding the great work that God has in store for us. When my kids don’t see the big picture and don’t have the final plan revealed to them, there is a sense of anxiety there. They are unsure of what lies ahead, so they become impatient. If we are still, listen, and open our hearts to God, we obtain hope and reassurance. But this takes faith and submitting to being led by the Holy Spirit. Spending time daily to grow through God’s Word. 

As mentioned, I pray that my children will have an active relationship with God. I hope that the true power of God, the resurrection power, will be real in the lives of my children. We also should pray that each of us Christians has that real and genuine relationship as saints who are sanctified and set apart through Christ. 

Christ is the head of the church, and God has put all creation under His feet. We are the body, the body of collective believers who pray for each other and demonstrate love toward each other so that the body remains strong. With this prayer, Paul desires that the believers in the body of Christ gain an understanding of God’s will and make their relationship with God a genuine and personal relationship. He wants it to be real for them. These areas were important for Paul enough to pray about them for his fellow believers. So, let us pray for each other in this way and make our relationship with God a real relationship. Let us open the eyes of our hearts so that we are enlightened with wisdom by the Holy Spirit regarding God’s will for our lives, and lastly, we should pour out love on one another.