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Equal Opportunity Blessings which Persist when all else is Lost

By Anita Mathias

The Letter to the Ephesians opens with rapturous praise to God who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Who has lavished the riches of God’s grace on us.
Reading it in a modern paraphrase like The Message or The New Living Bible captures Paul’s ecstatic gratitude and thanksgiving–for what remains when everything is lost
Astonishingly, Paul wrote the Letter to the Ephesians from prison.
Let’s imagine ourselves in a primitive prison, bereft of everything all material and tangible blessings, save life.
* We have lost all the money we ever had.
* Own no home
* Have lost the possessions of a lifetime
* Are separated from all our friends and family
* Our books are taken away; we have little mental stimulation.
* Not only do we have no power or influence over others, but our life and comfort is totally in other people’s power.
* Even our health is no longer under our control—we eat what, and how much we are given; cannot control the temperature, our bedding, sleep, routine, or the cleanliness of our surroundings or even our access to fresh air and pure water or food. We probably have no access to exercise
We have nothing.
Or to read the Letter to the Ephesians: We have everything. Every spiritual blessing in Christ (Eph 1:3). The riches of God’s grace which he lavishes on us (Eph 1:7).
What are these riches lavished on the one who had nothing?
The “every spiritual blessing” given to the one who had few visible earthly blessings?
What might we find to be grateful about if we were in prison, like Paul, bereft of all earthly goods?
1) We would have the presence of the Holy Spirit, the joy-giver, who gives us joy better than corn or new wine. (Ps 4:7). We would have his comfort.
2) Christ shed his blood, sacrificially, to redeem us; we are now the adopted children of the Most High God.
And so we would have hope. Hope that our present sufferings might end, but we would also know that he has put eternity in our hearts, and that we will be with him in eternity
3) As he is with us here. We would know that Christ was intimately present with us, in prison. In fact, we would have a best friend with us in solitary confinement.
4) We would have someone to talk to and we would have the gift of prayer. The Spirit himself would help us in our weakness, and we would be able to talk to Christ in tongues, if we were Paul. When we were bored, or sleepless, we would pray, and we would know our prayers are heard. We would be comforted.
4B) We would have the great gift of worshipping God even in prison.
5) And what would we pray about?
We would thank God for his past goodness to us, his present presence with us; we would thank him for all that was good in our present straitened circumstances, and for the character he was forging in us.
6)We would have faith and trust, that God would give us the grace we needed in our hour of need, and that we could trust him for our future.
7) We would have the gift of the teaching of the Lord Jesus, statements like
·      * Do not worry about anything at all. God will care for me like he cares for the lilies
·      * Do not let your hearts be troubled
·      * Forgive, and do not resist evil.
·      * Do not fear him who destroys the body, but cannot touch the soul.
·      These teachings would be an antidote against anxiety
8 ) We should have the spirit-enabled gift of forgiveness and the deep relief it brings. This would help safe-guard our souls against bitterness.
9) We would have the peace of God, which transcends understanding guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
These spiritual gifts were enough for Paul to write, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say Rejoice.” (Phil 4:4)
Is all this theological? Yes. Abstract, yes
As Christians down the ages have found, when you have little else, when all other idols fail, theology becomes exceedingly real.
Spiritual life and real life merge and become one, as in fact they always are. Our spiritual blessings are the realest blessings.
Let me never forget to pray for earthly temporal blessings, and to thank you for them, Lord, but let me not forget the realest blessings are those which endure when the music fades, and all is stripped away.
Then we return to the heart of worship, in a mansion or a dungeon. And it’s all about you Jesus.
 
And since, in fact, I am not in prison, but am surrounded by the goodness and mercy of God, oh Lord help me to be as joyful, as peaceful, and as grateful as Paul was in the Mamertine Dungeon.

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Filed Under: In which I play in the fields of Scripture

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Comments

  1. Anita says

    January 23, 2012 at 10:50 pm

    @Rob, thanks:-)

  2. Rob says

    January 17, 2012 at 1:58 pm

    Wow, great point!

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Wandering Between Two Worlds: Essays on Faith and Art

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Francesco, Artist of Florence: The Man Who Gave Too Much

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The Story of Dirk Willems

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Recent Posts

  •  On Not Wasting a Desert Experience
  • A Mind of Life and Peace in the Middle of a Global Pandemic
  • On Yoga and Following Jesus
  • Silver and Gold Linings in the Storm Clouds of Coronavirus
  • Trust: A Message of Christmas
  • Life- Changing Journaling: A Gratitude Journal, and Habit-Tracker, with Food and Exercise Logs, Time Sheets, a Bullet Journal, Goal Sheets and a Planner
  • On Loving That Which Love You Back
  • “An Autobiography in Five Chapters” and Avoiding Habitual Holes  
  • Shining Faith in Action: Dirk Willems on the Ice
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Childhood, Youth, Dependency: The Copenhagen Trilogy
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Acedia & me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life
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anita.mathias

Writer, Blogger, Reader, Mum. Christian. Instaing Oxford, travel, gardens and healthy meals. Oxford English alum. Writing memoir. Lives in Oxford, UK

Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford # Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford #walking #tranquility #naturephotography #nature
So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And h So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And here we are at one of the world’s most famous and easily recognisable sites.
#stonehenge #travel #england #prehistoric England #family #druids
And I’ve blogged https://anitamathias.com/2020/09/13/on-not-wasting-a-desert-experience/
So, after Paul the Apostle's lightning bolt encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he went into the desert, he tells us...
And there, he received revelation, visions, and had divine encounters. The same Judean desert, where Jesus fasted for forty days before starting his active ministry. Where Moses encountered God. Where David turned from a shepherd to a leader and a King, and more, a man after God’s own heart.  Where Elijah in the throes of a nervous breakdown hears God in a gentle whisper. 
England, where I live, like most of the world is going through a desert experience of continuing partial lockdowns. Covid-19 spreads through human contact and social life, and so we must refrain from those great pleasures. We are invited to the desert, a harsh place where pruning can occur, and spiritual fruitfulness.
A plague like this has not been known for a hundred years... John Piper, after his cancer diagnosis, exhorted people, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer”—since this was the experience God permitted you to have, and He can bring gold from it. Pandemics and plagues are permitted (though not willed or desired) by a Sovereign God, and he can bring life-change out of them. 
Let us not waste this unwanted, unchosen pandemic, this opportunity for silence, solitude and reflection. Let’s not squander on endless Zoom calls—or on the internet, which, if not used wisely, will only raise anxiety levels. Let’s instead accept the invitation to increased silence and reflection
Let's use the extra free time that many of us have long coveted and which has now been given us by Covid-19 restrictions to seek the face of God. To seek revelation. To pray. 
And to work on those projects of our hearts which have been smothered by noise, busyness, and the tumult of people and parties. To nurture the fragile dreams still alive in our hearts. The long-deferred duty or vocation
So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I have totally sunk into the rhythm of it, and have got quiet, very quiet, the quietest spell of time I have had as an adult.
I like it. I will find going back to the sometimes frenetic merry-go-round of my old life rather hard. Well, I doubt I will go back to it. I will prune some activities, and generally live more intentionally and mindfully.
I have started blocking internet of my phone and laptop for longer periods of time, and that has brought a lot of internal quiet and peace.
Some of the things I have enjoyed during lockdown have been my daily long walks, and gardening. Well, and reading and working on a longer piece of work.
Here are some images from my walks.
And if you missed it, a blog about maintaining peace in the middle of the storm of a global pandemic
https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/  #walking #contemplating #beauty #oxford #pandemic
A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine. A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine.  We can maintain a mind of life and peace during this period of lockdown by being mindful of our minds, and regulating them through meditation; being mindful of our bodies and keeping them happy by exercise and yoga; and being mindful of our emotions in this uncertain time, and trusting God who remains in charge. A new blog on maintaining a mind of life and peace during lockdown https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/
In the days when one could still travel, i.e. Janu In the days when one could still travel, i.e. January 2020, which seems like another life, all four of us spent 10 days in Malta. I unplugged, and logged off social media, so here are some belated iphone photos of a day in Valetta.
Today, of course, there’s a lockdown, and the country’s leader is in intensive care.
When the world is too much with us, and the news stresses us, moving one’s body, as in yoga or walking, calms the mind. I am doing some Yoga with Adriene, and again seeing the similarities between the practice of Yoga and the practice of following Christ.
https://anitamathias.com/2020/04/06/on-yoga-and-following-jesus/
#valleta #valletamalta #travel #travelgram #uncagedbird
Images from some recent walks in Oxford. I am copi Images from some recent walks in Oxford.
I am coping with lockdown by really, really enjoying my daily 4 mile walk. By savouring the peace of wild things. By trusting that God will bring good out of this. With a bit of yoga, and weights. And by working a fair amount in my garden. And reading.
How are you doing?
#oxford #oxfordinlockdown #lockdown #walk #lockdownwalks #peace #beauty #happiness #joy #thepeaceofwildthings
Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social d Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social distancing. The first two are my own garden.  And I’ve https://anitamathias.com/2020/03/28/silver-and-gold-linings-in-the-storm-clouds-of-coronavirus/ #corona #socialdistancing #silverlinings #silence #solitude #peace
Trust: A Message of Christmas He came to earth in Trust: A Message of Christmas  He came to earth in a  splash of energy
And gentleness and humility.
That homeless baby in the barn
Would be the lynchpin on which history would ever after turn
Who would have thought it?
But perhaps those attuned to God’s way of surprises would not be surprised.
He was already at the centre of all things, connecting all things. * * *
Augustus Caesar issued a decree which brought him to Bethlehem,
The oppressions of colonialism and conquest brought the Messiah exactly where he was meant to be, the place prophesied eight hundred years before his birth by the Prophet Micah.
And he was already redeeming all things. The shame of unwed motherhood; the powerlessness of poverty.
He was born among animals in a barn, animals enjoying the sweetness of life, animals he created, animals precious to him.
For he created all things, and in him all things hold together
Including stars in the sky, of which a new one heralded his birth
Drawing astronomers to him.
And drawing him to the attention of an angry King
As angelic song drew shepherds to him.
An Emperor, a King, scholars, shepherds, angels, animals, stars, an unwed mother
All things in heaven and earth connected
By a homeless baby
The still point on which the world still turns. The powerful centre. The only true power.
The One who makes connections. * * *
And there is no end to the wisdom, the crystal glints of the Message that birth brings.
To me, today, it says, “Fear not, trust me, I will make a way.” The baby lay gentle in the barn
And God arranges for new stars, angelic song, wise visitors with needed finances for his sustenance in the swiftly-coming exile, shepherds to underline the anointing and reassure his parents. “Trust me in your dilemmas,” the baby still says, “I will make a way. I will show it to you.” Happy Christmas everyone.  https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/24/trust-a-message-of-christmas/ #christmas #gemalderieberlin #trust #godwillmakeaway
Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Gratitude journal, habit tracker, food and exercise journal, bullet journal, with time sheets, goal sheets and a Planner. Everything you’d like to track.  Here’s a post about it with ISBNs https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/23/life-changing-journalling/. Check it out. I hope you and your kids like it!
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