Have you ever visited Stonehenge, in England? I haven’t either. But it’s fascinating to me, mainly because historians seem to know so little about it. Archaeologists guess that Stonehenge began as a burial ground around 3000 BC – but by who? Who set up these gigantic stones, and why? There is evidence in the area that suggests a few possibilities, but in the end, this massive monument and its creators remain shrouded in mystery.
Have you ever asked yourself, “What if God had remained hidden?” What if God had created the Heavens and Earth… and then just left it at that? What if – after Adam and Eve had listened to the snake and rebelled against God – He’d more or less disappeared from the scene and left us on our own, with only vague stories passed down to reveal anything about our origins and no hope for any relationship with Him? How hopeless would that be!
But this isn’t how God did things, is it? No, He deliberately seeks us out, even when we run the other direction or put our fingers in our ears and pretend He isn’t there. In the ultimate act of self-revelation, God sent His Son (John 14:9), who came not only to show us our Maker, but to give us a hope in a sure future. As John explains at the end of his gospel:
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30-31).
In Ephesians 1:18-19, Paul tells the Ephesians he’s praying God will continue to reveal this hope to them
“…having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe…”
There are three things Paul says he wants them to know. First, he wants these believers to know – to really know – the hope to which they (and we) have been called. Second, that we are Christ’s inheritance – and (third) because of that, we can rest assured that God will work his immeasurable power for our sake to keep Christ’s inheritance secure.
Are you going through a tough time right now? I know for me especially in those times, it feels very much like God is distant, shrouded in mystery, or even silent. My prayers feel like they’re bouncing off the ceiling, or – worse – that I’m just talking to myself, and He isn’t even there.
If that is where you are, then I hope this is an encouragement to you. God is there, and before He even said, “let there be light,” He was pursuing you and me because He loves us. Because we are the inheritance, which he bought at the expense of His own Son, Jesus – to secure for us a future and a hope. Do you know that? Do you really, deep down inside, know that?
We do not worship a God who is unknown, or who has hidden Himself from us, and we do not have to speculate or guess at whether He cares about us still. So – as Paul did for the Ephesians – pray that you and me and the rest of the saints would really and truly know that we have a sure hope, a cosmic significance to Him that goes far beyond anything our small imaginations could dream up.
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