So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:17-19
The Basic Bible Truth
God’s expressed intent for our lives as Christians is that we continue to grow in our understanding and knowledge of Him. At the moment of Salvation, we are but babes, in need of nourishment and care. All too often, young Christians fail to see the need of discipleship, and they continue in their spiritually immature condition. But the mature Christian, can be used of God in life. That should be our goal—to serve Him.
The Object
An Eye Chart
This eye chart is used to test spiritual eyesight. As each row of letters becomes more difficult to see and read, so is the command for the Christian more difficult to follow. There is a progression here also of maturity. Each line represents a level of understanding that must essentially be mastered before the next level can take perfect root in our lives.
The Lesson
E: Eternal life. Ecclesiastes 3:11. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. We all long for the “God shaped” void in our lives to be filled with something. We yearn for something to complete our existence. That is fulfilled when we are
BA: Born Again. John 3:3. Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. We are born into this world spiritually dead, in need of help that we cannot provide for ourselves. Jesus offers life. When we accept that offer, the spiritual part of us is made alive in Christ and we are then a complete being as God intended us to be. When we realize the great gift we have been given, our natural response should be to
LLG: Love the Lord Your God. Matthew 22:37a. Love the Lord your God. God is to have first place in our lives. For the Christian, we owe a great debt of gratitude for all that He has done for us. And when that truth settles into our hearts, we can love Him
WHSM: With our heart, soul, and mind. Matthew 22:37b. with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. Our reverential fear and respect of God will consume us completely. We come to an awareness then that we are nothing compared to His greatness and realize that we need to change our ways to be more and more like His. The cry of our hearts should be
CMCH: Create in me a clean heart. Psalm 51:10. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. God will work in the life of those who are living according to His Word. We must set sin aside. Sin is always first and foremost against God Himself. That strains our relationship with Him and needs to be addressed always. We learn right from wrong when we begin to
STSTA: Study to show thyself approved. II Timothy 2:15. Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. The Bible, God’s Word, contains everything we need to know about God. It is an absolutely amazing book without equal. God said that His Word will not go out from Him and return void. To read and study the Scripture will affect our lives more than we can possibly imagine. All time spent in the Word in study, is time well spent. The effect will be that we will
STLWG: Serve the Lord with gladness. Psalm 100:2. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. The result of walking close to the Lord will be a heart change of direction. No longer will we be bent on fulfilling our own dreams and desires. With God at the forefront of our thoughts, His desires become our desires. And that is the most rewarding place for a Christian to be. Our true joy is found in serving Him. In serving Him, we will find a need to
BYKOTA: Be ye kind one to another. Ephesians 4:32. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Our fellow Christians are saved sinners just like us. We are all works in progress, and we must recognize that fact and be ready to forgive each other. When we see that we are all on common ground, our pride is dealt a fatal blow and put down. When we humble ourselves before God and each other, we will then see the need to
IMMSTA: I make myself a servant to all. I Corinthians 9:19. For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. True humility is seen when we spend our lives investing in the needs of others. Jesus came to serve. We should follow His example. And the greatest service we can do for God is to
GYMDOAN: Go ye and make disciples of all nations. Matthew 28:19. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Our greatest gift of service that we can give to others is to live a godly life and share our faith with all that we come in contact with. To teach them what we have learned so that they too can become mature Christians, fulfilling God’s perfect plan on this earth. When we have accomplished that, we may hear from Him one day
WDTGFS: Well done thou good and faithful servant. Matthew 25:21. “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” Our ultimate goal is Heaven. One day each of us will stand before the Father and answer for everything we have done on this earth, both the good and the bad. For the mature Christian who has governed their life by the Word of God and has served Him as He has commanded them to, those words, spoken by our Heavenly Father, will be the sweetest words we have ever heard.