I once read that people are very happy to live for God as long as they feel like God is living for them. Sure, to a degree, we see God moving powerfully in Scripture to redeem, rescue, or rehabilitate His people. However, so much of that is actually God furthering His plans and purposes, not the people’s. I think the same comes through here in Ephesians 1.11-12:
“In Christ we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, since we were predestined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, would be to the praise of his glory.”
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Read through those two verses again and see God’s plans and purposes coming through: God’s own possession…the purpose of Him…the counsel of His will…the praise of His glory…Again, sure, we have a part to play in God’s plan (we’ve talked about that in Ephesians already) but, really, what is this all for and what is the chief end of everything?
Simply, we don’t make ourselves God’s possession, we don’t predestine ourselves, we don’t accomplish all things according to our own counsel, and we don’t do everything to the praise of our own glory.
This might be difficult for some to swallow, but God is not on His throne working tirelessly to give you a good life. His plans and predestining aren’t centred on you. We are not the focus, He is. We are not the centre and pinnacle of existence, He is. We are not the most important thing in the universe, He is.
Reading Ephesians 1.11-12 made me think of a piece from a couple of years ago from Pray Big Prayers. You can read the article here, or pick up the book (for basically the cost of the paper, here).
James Travis 