Together, with all God's people

“I pray that you may receive power and strength…together with all of God’s people” – Ephesians 3:18

I recently read through Paul’s inspirational prayer he wrote out for the Ephesians in his letter to them. Here’s the guy who’s the founder and architect of their church, having been around since their inception, heavily involved in their growth and development, now pouring his heart out to them.

It’s an inspirational, moving passage, full of desire, hope, and as Pastor Brian likes to say, vital optimism. Paul dreams the big dreams of what he envisions for their lives, and allows them to see that this is near and dear to his heart for them. He shares with them what he most desires for them – a life full of the presence and power of God.

One detail I missed was the phrase that pops up embedded in the middle of verse 18 – “together with all God's holy people”. I never noticed that before. That verse seemed to linger with me after I finished reading it. I found it repeating itself through my ensuing days. I sat with that verse for a while and considered what God was impressing upon me.

When Paul talks about being rooted and established in love, it’s not merely a symbolic or ethereal term for him. He’s not waxing eloquent about some kind of vague knowledge that few grasp. He’s being very concrete about it. Follow me as a lay out what I think Paul is pointing to.

Being rooted is an agricultural reference that most people can quickly understand. When we are rooted in something we stay committed to it; we lock in and are able to withstand any attempts to pull us apart. We endure all kinds of flack and nonsense because what we’re connected to is worth it.

So what are we being rooted in? Love. Doesn’t strike you yet as compelling? What if I substituted the word “relationships” for “love—how does that sound? Paul is very clear in his allusion to love that it’s not something vague and nebulous we are to do throughout the day. He wants us to love people…in relationships. The way we treat our family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, acquaintances, even strangers is the focus and target of our love. We are to be anchored with each other as we together seek the fulfillment of this gripping vision. When we are rooted in healthy relationships, we are experiencing and reflecting our ultimate design by God. It’s at those moments where we see the complete fulfillment of the Great Commandment in our lives, as we simultaneously love God and love our neighbor.

What Paul prays for is also compelling. It’s as if Paul is audaciously asking the Lord to grant us the knowledge of something so wonderful, it seems to be beyond human comprehension. Getting our brains wrapped around the ginormous weight and scope of God’s love is incredible. Most of us marvel as to why and how God loves us. We mostly settle for a “He just does” when we ask, because the beauty of it seems to melt us and blow our minds. This seems to be the ultimate, most prized, greatest understanding anyone on earth through the history of man could get a handle on. And yet, this is the very thing Paul prays. What would be the very best for us is the very thing dearest to Paul’s heart.

It’s not just the select few, the elites, the super-saints who are encouraged to experience this. Just like when the temple veil was torn in two at the moment of Jesus’ death, and the barrier between God and man was lifted and ripped away, Paul is espousing a radical notion that every single one of us – from the smartest to dullest, most experienced to least, most likely to the unlikeliest – is now eligible for this beautiful treasure. No one gets left behind. The love of God for us is open for all to experience, to be thrilled with, to delight in.

So all of us, every last one of us, are on the list. No one is exempt. Nobody gets left behind. Nobody is left out in the cold. “All the saints” is how one translation goes – that pretty much means every single person who’s given their life to Christ.

May you live your day in the warm beauty of this compelling truth and vision. And may you actively love those around you and in your growth group, so they too can experience the joy of experiencing God’s love for them.

What makes a group "great"?

What does a “great group” look like? What would you see happening in a group that is hitting on all cylinders, eagerly seeking God’s joy and glory, and experiencing life changing moments of personal transformation?

We asked each other this question in our monthly coaches meeting just last week, and what follows is a compilation of some of the answers and opinions that were shared around the room.

Obviously, we’ll include some of the basics like a solid attendance record, people actively working through the material of study during the week around meeting nights, and people praying and caring for each other. I would say those things are actions and indicators of what a group does – but what makes it special, stand out, tremendously dynamic in the lives of all the members?

The first special indicator for me is relational credibility. A great group is one that has a deep and rich level of relational integrity – meaning, they’ve forged a cohesive bond that is strong and enduring, that is greatly elastic and flexible, and has a high level of value. This kind of group is one that has earned the right to be heard, can speak the truth in love with one another, has safely allowed sincere moments of total transparency, and can lean on each other when the crisis times emerge. This group knows their members’ stories, knows their pain, and has personal friendships that exist and interact outside the meeting times throughout the rest of the week. This group has its relational action down.

 

The second indicator may be a surprising one: it’s experiencing suffering together. Groups that have had awkward, uncomfortable, even painful moments with each other—and have responded to that painful stimulus in the right way—are groups that have opened a whole new universe of experiences they can share together. A group that has walked the journey of hurt with a member (or a few of them) develops the heart of Jesus in the process, and when that happens, the group elevates its game to a whole new level.

 

This doesn’t have to be simply suffering by an individual about something outside the group. It can also encompass pain and discomfort in the form of conflict within the group. Two people could be at odds over something, and it could end up being the catalyst towards growing intimacy versus remaining distant. Conflict can be a relational generator – again, handled in the right manner. It’s a pity most Christians run for the hills and avoid conflict like Bubonic plague.

 

The third indicator is a group that is experiencing transforming moments with Jesus Christ through the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. As people have the truth of Jesus light up their hearts and give them joy, peace, strength, cleansing, healing, forgiveness, power, and more, they are indelibly changed. They may never be the same again. Factor in that there could be more than one person experiencing this, and you have a catalytic opportunity in your group for tremendous spiritual growth like some spiritual version of a greenhouse.

 

The big question that begs to be asked is – where is your group in these areas? If each indicator was on a spectrum from “very little like us” to “completely like us”, what might you say your group was like? How far along that spectrum are you? What kinds of experiences have you had that might help you move along further down the route? Are there ones you’ve shied away from because they were, to be honest, intimidating and challenging?

 

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Reply to me or post your comments on the GG Page on Facebook.