A Pastor's Ponderings: Passed From Death Unto Life
Backstory: my stockbroker neighbor loaned his car to his new
occupant, who subsequently wrecked it. I accompanied the guilty party to a
local bar to express his apologies, where he was told not to return without the
money to repair the vehicle. We rushed back to gather some of this man’s
belongings. Suddenly, the front door opened. We hurdled the back balcony, landing
in the sand below.
Later, I watched in amazement as the drunken madman cast much
of the young man’s belongings over the front railing, finishing with his television
crashing to the pavement. After things quieted down, I decided to return to my
apartment. As I was ascending the steps, my neighbor’s door burst open with him
running toward me, pointing his gun in my direction. He reached me at the top
of the stairs with the gun now pointed in my face.
After living too often on the edge of the precipice, that
incident caused me to make three life-changing decisions: I was no longer going
to live to party; I was going back to college night classes; I was going to go
to church to find a wife. Please do not judge my motives too harshly; I found a
wife at church and much more!
These new resolutions brought many unexpected outcomes. I
went to church looking for what I thought I wanted or needed, and God saw fit
to bless me far beyond my wildest expectations. Going to church not only netted
me the woman of my dreams but the Saviour I did not know! The Bible sums up what
happened this way:
“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly
above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”
(Ephesians 3:20).
The Bible reveals a gracious, merciful, caring God, and this
verse describes a God that can do what you ASK. But there is more! He can do
ALL that you ask. He can do ABOVE all that you ask. He can do ABUNDANTLY above
all that you ask. He can do EXCEEDING abundantly above all that you ask. Wow! Yet,
there is still more….God can do “exceeding abundantly above all that you ask”
OR THINK! Imagine a God that can bless far beyond even your wildest
expectations, and you will begin to realize the relationship God intended for
each of us.
Yet, we are cynical people, so what’s the catch, right?
There is one qualifier, and it has everything to do with submission to His will.
Since God is able to do what we ask, what hinders His follow through? God
purposefully limits what He can do “according to the power that worketh in
us.” God’s Spirit living within each believer is the catalyst that allows His
power from within to direct us. The power will not work unless the believer
submits his will to the will of the heavenly Father.
The title of this article comes from two Bible verses that
mention passing from “death unto life” (John 5:24 and 1 John 3:14). Check them
out!
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