An empty glove

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. (Ephesians 3:16-19)

I cannot get enough of Paul's letters to the church. There is so much within those short letters that can uplift our spirit, bring conviction where necessary, and draw us closer to Jesus. As Paul begins this prayer for those he is ministering to, it is also for all future generations of believers. I think Paul saw the tip of the iceberg when he saw his reach into the 'then known world', but he also had the faith to see beyond to the future generations who would follow in the footsteps of these believers. To that end, he prays for God's 'unlimited resources' to empower us with inner strength through his Holy Spirit. The very best news we can hear is that God's 'resources' are UNLIMITED. There is NO end to them, nor is there any limit to what they can accomplish within us and through us.

Inner strength is often lacking, isn't it? We face some trial, and, in a flash, all our strength is drained. That may not be such a bad thing, though, because when our strength comes to an end, God's strength is still there. Maybe God was waiting for us to come to an end of relying upon our own strength! The moment we admit the challenge of living upright lives is beyond our OWN ability is the exact moment his Spirit can renew ours, taking control of the situation, and giving us 'supernatural' strength. When we make room for Jesus, it isn't just a tiny space we are to give him. It is the entire space of our lives. That means we lay down our strength for his, our will for his, and our hurts for his healing. 

I heard an illustration once that might make this 'space' thing a little clearer. A glove is made for a specific purpose - for the hand. Without the hand, the glove is merely cloth, limp, without animation. Once the hand is inserted, the glove comes to life - there is animation, it is filled to capacity. The glove 'fits' the hand because it was made for the hand. In just the same manner, our lives are an empty glove until Christ's Spirit fills that 'space' created specifically to 'fit'. Christ fills that space to capacity and begins to animate us in a new way. The 'limp' life we once lived is now filled and we come to life in him. The 'glove' of our life was created with the purpose of being filled to capacity with his Spirit.

The more we allow Jesus to fill up our lives, the more we will live with purpose because we were actually created with that purpose in mind. The inner man finds the greatest strength in being filled to capacity with his Spirit. Just sayin!