Ephesians 1:18-20 Enlightenment

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.

The world seeks enlightenment. Gurus spend untold hours in silent meditation in hopes that they will achieve an altered state of mind, and reach a "higher plane". New agers use meditation and visualization techniques to find a "spirit guide" who will supposedly enlighten their minds. Scientists and humanists look for meaning in evolution and the big bang theory. They hope that if they can find the origin of the universe, their minds will be enlightened.

These are all meaningless substitutes for God.

The source of true enlightenment is God. His Spirit lives within all who trust in the name of Jesus, and He will reveal truth to our spirits.

Before I came to Christ, I was into new age religion. The goal of enlightenment was to enlighten oneself. If I looked inside myself, and reached a certain level of enlightenment, I would become "one with the universe", and achieve a state of mind called nirvana.  It was all about me.

The Bible teaches that God enlightens us so that we will know more about Him.

The "hope of His calling" is the ultimate goal of salvation: an eternity spent worshiping God. It's not about walking on streets of gold, or having our bodies transformed into that of a celestial being, or living forever. All these things are true, but they are not the goal; they are only a means to an end. It is so we can offer pure , undiluted, worship to God forever.

"The riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints" Is speaking of Jesus' inheritance, not ours. We are his inheritance. At first glance, I look at myself and think, "What a sorry inheritance." But Jesus thinks otherwise. He looks at us through the filter of redemption. He sees us as a bridegroom sees a bride. Pure and holy, glorious, a prize greater than any other.

I pray that I may be able to see myself and others the same way Jesus sees us. Not to puffed up with pride saying, "See how glorious I am!" But in humility saying, "See what God has done."

"The surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe." God can be powerful in our lives. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is alive in us. We can see miracles and healings in our lives. We don't fear the attacks and manipulations of the devil, because He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.

God will show His power in your life - if you believe. If you adhere to a tradition that says God no longer heals or shows miracles, then how can you have faith to believe? As Jesus said, "You invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition." [Matthew 15:6 NASB].

You can have faith to believe in the power of God. Jesus said, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you." [Matthew 17:20 NASB]

God, your Father, loves you and wants good things for you. He gives freely according to His grace. He asks only that you believe.