Vince Deagler

hi out there.  i’m back again.  been doing a lot of thinking in conjunction with my study of pauls letter to the ephesians.  one of the thoughts i’ve really been chewing on is found in ephesians 1:17 where paul is praying the ephesians would know god better.  obviously that means they already know him.  to my way of thinking that means they had recognized their need for forgiveness and invited jesus to be the leader of their life.  that simple act of faith results in god making them into a new man or woman as the case may be.  knowing in our culture tends to imply an academic/intellectual process where we become familiar with some kind of truth.  knowing god, as paul is discussing is an interactive/relational concept.  when the ephesians put their trust in christ, that relationship began.  but as with all relationships, they are not static.  no, they grow, develop, change.  when i look at myself today, compared to 5 years ago, i immediately realize how much i have changed.  when i imagine myself in 5 years i recognize i will not be the same as i am now.  that’s just life.  that’s why the tricky part of every relationship is to keep on growing together.  if you don’t, you’ll grow apart.  well i know god doesn’t change, so he’s not the problem here.  but i am changing, the circumstances of my life are changing, and i need to take that journey with the god who is everywhere, all the time, in every circumstance and person i meet.  and as i do i think i will know god better.  in fact i visualize this through the lens of marriage (a common analogy in scripture for our relationship with god).  back in genesis 2:18-25 god calls a couple entering into marriage to leave their parents , bond with each other, so that they could achieve “one flesh” intimacy.  when i think about my own life experience i remember a time when i did not even know my wife (diane) even existed.  then one day we met…to be honest, at that moment, her existence wasn’t that big of deal to me.  she was the sister of one of my new friends.  but then one day i noticed how cute she was, how much fun she was, and that i really wanted to spend more time with her instead of her brother.  fortuneately for me, she felt the same way and we began that wonderful adventure called falling in love.  have you ever had that pleasure?  do you remember what that was like?  i do.  it was great.  then and now. (this june we’ll be married 31 years)  from those early days of just noticing her for the first time, to all that life throws at you over 31 years of marriage i have come to know her better.  i’m not talking about knowing about her, although that has happened.  what i’m talking about is the falling in love journey that is leading the 2 of us everyday to be “one flesh”.  as the wedding vows say…for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health.  everyday, whatever life throws at us, handling it together in a way that brings us closer.  well, i’m thinking that is how we can know god better.  yeh, i know him now.  that’s not the issue.  knowing him better tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, etc.  thats what i’m looking for.  and thats what i was looking for when i got married to diane.  i wanted to know her better.  i’ve found that’s a rest of your life process.  i’ve found that is a sharing life process.  i’m thinking that’s the way it works with god too.  everyday, no matter what life throws at me, handling it with god in a way that brings me closer to him.  (remember, he isn’t going anywhere…he’s everywhere all the time)  i’m thinking the more i do that, the better our relationship will be, and thats what knowing him is all about.  i hope that makes sense.  it does to me.  the neat thing is, when that is true, there are all kinds of blessings attached.  paul talks about our calling, inheritance, and power.  but it all flows out of knowing him better.  i’m working on that, i invite you to do the same.  let me know how you’re doing, i’ll tery to keep you posted on my progress.  blessings.  vince