In Christ: A Journey Through Ephesians Pavyzdys

Early in my faith journey, when I read Bible passages on how God wanted me to live as a Christian and compared them to my typical day, I felt defeated, like a failure. I felt I was powerless against all my sins and enslaving behaviors. In many ways, I lived as a victim rather than an empowered child of the victorious, risen Lord.

One of the most freeing truths I’ve come to grasp is this: I possess resurrection power within. This means I have everything I need to live and love as Christ desires. If you belong to Jesus, the same is true for you. Pause to soak in the words of Ephesians 1: 16- 20, written by a man who routinely saw the life-changing power of Jesus Christ work in people others might have considered beyond hope. 

He wrote, “I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. 

"I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. "

When I began living as the empowered child of God that I was—everything changed. Sin began to loosen its grip on me. I realized that no matter how I felt in the moment, I truly did possess the strength, in Christ, to respond to hatred with love, anger with kindness, and to knowingly choose humility over greed and pride. 

I learned to fight my battles differently, relying less on myself and more on the power of the risen Savior residing within me. I learned to yield, and as I did, His Spirit gained strength and influence in my soul. 

In Christ, we don’t receive small bits of 'power' sprinkled here and there; we have access to the full power of God, the One who is, at every moment, working all things to the conformity of His will.

We need to learn to live in that power, and that begins with a simple mindset shift. We begin by recognizing we are not helpless victims to our circumstances, emotions, or sinful desires and urges. We are chosen, called, loved, and empowered children of God. May we all learn to live together as the victorious children we are, we can learn to live wholly loved.

~Jennifer Slattery