A Prayer for the Big Picture

I was looking for the word to describe why I’m going to do what I’m going to do this weekend. I discovered it:  multivocal.  (It’s actually pronounced mul-TIV-o-kul.)   From the basic interpretation of “many voices,” it denotes something having different meanings of relatively equal validity. 

Scripture is multivocal. Rarely does a Bible passage have a point. Rarely can we determine the meaning of a word or sentence. The richness of God’s word to us is that it can say different things to us at different times.

This weekend I plan to preach on the same passage that Morgan preached on last week:  Ephesians 3:14-21. I have no quibble with his excellent sermon and no reason to correct what he said. Rather, as our Monday evening RE-Focus group pondered this passage and Morgan’s sermon, we found ourselves going down a different path – one that I hadn’t yet taken from this passage before.   

Paul offers here what I call “A Prayer for the Big Picture.”  He prays these things for his hearers:

·        That they may be strengthened inwardly                               (v. 16)
·        That the love of Jesus Christ will dwell in their hearts          (vs. 17, 19a)
·        That they will grasp the immensity of God                             (v. 18)
·        That they will be filled with God’s fullness.                            (v. 19b)

This can be another way of grasping the Big Picture called Why Am I Here?  When life is fragile and short, what marks time on earth well-spent?  When life is long, what matters most?  When we dwell in the valley of the shadow of death, what do we focus on? 

Paul points us in this prayer to the Big Picture. We’re not here to figure life out – to answer some cosmic question – or just to “do the best we can.” The quality of human life is measured by our capacity to open our hearts to God and experience love.

This is Paul’s prayer for Ephesian people and for you.  How well is your life responding to this prayer?  Do you know the inner strength of God that enables you to be patient – forgiving – thoughtful – and kind?  Do you know you are loved with a love that surpasses all human understanding?  Are you ever bowled-over and awed by the hand of God in the world?  And are you growing in love?  Is your heart becoming fuller as you age, or emptier, or more apathetic and cynical?

Scripture is multivocal.  Familiar passages, read again, will yield new meanings.  I’ll invite you this weekend – at Saturday LifeSign and at Sunday services – to listen again to this familiar prayer.  See if it helps you see God’s “BIG Picture” for your life in a new light.

Pastor Larry