Letters from Prison - Ephesians 1:1-14
Passages like we have today can get very theological and deep and we miss the practical. While we'll deal with some weighty concepts, like predestination, election, and the Trinity, we'll also apply this to the real life experiences of young ladies - and in so doing, I think we'll get insights into all of our hearts and lives.
The culture of Ephesus put a lot of pressure on young girls. Artemis (Greek name) or Diana (Roman name) had a temple there and it was one of the seven wonders of the world to this false goddess - Diana. This was the Ephesian claim-to-fame; it was their identity. It took 244 years to build it. It was four times the size of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece (418 by 239 feet) Artemis was the patron goddess of young girls. As the saying goes, Diana fell out of heaven from Zeus. She is depicted with many breasts, a superwoman as it were. And these young Ephesian girls loved jewelry and they were conditioned by beauty, wealth, security. Diana was worshipped in nature. When a young girl came of age, they would give their maiden garment as well as a lock of their hair to this goddess in an offering. They lost their identity in all of it.
Do you young girls know how secure you are in Christ? The experiences of young ladies mirror what we all feel; they teach us about identity and worth in their struggle to find it. I think there were many women in Ephesus with identity issues.
Almost all young ladies are wanting answers to these four questions: Who am I? What do I want? Who do I want to be? What should I do? Come to think of it, I think we all want answers to these questions. The experiences of young ladies mirror what we all feel; they teach us about identity and worth in their struggle to find it. We'll look at ourselves through the mirror of "young ladies" today and see what God has to show us.