The geometry of God’s love. 

The geometry of God’s love. 

Ephesians 3
The Key to Inner Self Transformation

(listen to this article here)
What’s your social media saying about your inner-self? Is it saying you are in need of some inner-self transformation? How can I find inner-self transformation, inner peace, inner power when this outside world is frosted over my outer-self, my kids are giving me the cold shoulder and all I taste in the world comes with frost bite?  I want to tell you its not as far as you think. It’s closer than a Southwest ticket to the Bahamas

After a weekend blizzard, crazy drivers, mounds of snow, streets blocked, schools cancelled, cabin fever, you hear people complaining about their situations. Frustrated with this and that, and I’m guilty too. I was left wondering why do I do this? So I posed this question to the Apostle Paul and here is what he wrote. Bill, it’s in those times you’re not in touch with your inner life. In Ephesians 3 Paul is in prison writing this letter to the Ephesians when he drops this bomb shell that the very thing that is sustaining him, that thing he refers to as the “mystery in Christ” that was revealed to prophets, and apostles. He mentions the “manifold riches” the “powers in the heavenly places” and “wisdom of God” are in fact to be displayed by the church through you and I out of our very inner core of being.

Paul is writing to the church to encourage them to show the very inner life that is sustaining him in prison. What stands out is Paul isn’t complaining about his prison, about his “cabin fever”, the inability to be able to get out, nor the people he is imprisoned with. He’s not complaining about relational frustrations. He’s not taking selphies of his poor living conditions. As he turns his attention to the church he asks them not to “faint” at the conditions? Not their own, but at his. He’s not writing to a church who is complaining and posting on Instagram and Facebook. He’s not trying to bolster team spirit because of the outward experiences people are going through.

He is speaking to the inner struggle the people are dealing with as a result of Paul’s current situation. He wants them to be strengthened in their inner life. Why? Because when you have a strong inner life your outer life can be crushed, but you will remain strong. You’re outer life may be filled with fire and smoke, but your inner life will not be consumed by it.

Here’s the question Paul had me asking myself. What is my inner life consumed by? What is my inner life fixated on? If I would just grasp the breadth, length, height and depth of the gospel of the cross, I won’t complain. I won’t be crushed from my experiences.  My inner life will be so intune with the Spirit of God, all of these outward struggles won’t be a punch to the face or a monsoon. It will be nothing more than a poke or drip. Paul’s prayer is for their orthodoxy to become their orthopraxy. He’s praying for their doctrine to become their experience. My complaining is an indicator that my orthodoxy that is propping up my inner-self needs some working on.

Here is what we see in much of Western Church, people are displaying their doctrine and orthodoxy as we complain, whine and pout socially because our weak outer-self is accompanied by an even weaker inner-self that has an insatiable need to be coddled and stoked. Our complaints are like viral worship coaxing the crowd the placate our under developed inner child and over developed egos. But when we really face and deal with the breadth, length, depth, and height of God’s love our inner-self is transformed to see everything differently and everyone differently as you realize God sees you differently.

God has redeemed us across nationality, color, location, size, that is the breadth of God’s love. He shows you there is no one He gives up on and there is no one you should give up on. God will never give up on you. Your inner-self needs transformed to see yourself differently so that you never give up on anybody, because God hasn’t given up on you. Every time you share the breadth of God’s love with someone you are reminded of His love for you.

If you will grasp that God loves, loves, loves, loves, loves you and will never, never, never, never forsake you, you are on the verge of discovering the infinity of the length of His love for you. It goes to such a great length that no one can take you out of God’s hand (John 10:28-30). This is the length of his love. Did you run out of love for someone this week, the snow plowers, the school system, your kids, your spouse? Then you need to strengthen your inner being and know the length God is willing to go to love you. When you know this length, you’re love can go to the same lengths for others and never stop going and going and going…

The depth of God’s love reminds us that God was willing to go from throne of glory and through thorns on the cross to the depth of the grave to redeem and justify us. To what depth are you willing to love someone? If you are struggling with that depth of a situation or relationship than you are struggling to know the depth which God loves you. Only when you have grasped this will you be able to retreat to your inner-self when self-pity arises and when externally others aren’t so loving and appear unlovable (Philippians 2). Be reminded that there is no depth which God is not willing to go for you.

The height of God’s love is just where Paul wants us to traverse. He wants us to sojourn to the precipice of God’s love. Paul will aver that there is no better place to be than recognize that we are heirs in Christ’s kingdom, we are royalty. He proffers the sum of all the angles of the cross to those of us, the church, who will take it, when he writes, “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, unto him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations for ever and ever. A-men”.

Will you take in what Paul is offering to you through Christ? If you were to use your social media accounts to gauge your inner-self what is it saying? Is their peace? Do you get the height, but struggle with the depth? Do you see the length and can’t get your arms around the breadth? Do you get it or not? If you do, it will be unmistakable. It will come out in everything. You will see it in everything. I know you can grasp it because Paul is saying we can. Stop with the excuses. Move on from them. The size and angles of God’s love is too immense to let your excuses vex you any anylonger. God has gone to great lengths, heights, breadth and depths to make certain you can, to make certain you will.

Imagine if the Church, if every Christian believer were to begin posting on Facebook, instagram, periscope, tweeting, living out the breadth, length, depth and height of God’s love in the market place. The Web, the world would be shook from its selfish subjugation with its inner- spoiled self and the church would be unleashed from a disquiet with the external. Released to do abundantly more than we ever imagined, desired, or dreamed. I believe it can be done because the word of God here tells us it can.