¹⁶ that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸ may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹ and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19)

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G erminating

R ising

O pening;

W eather-beaten

T ransforming

H ereafter–

The seed is planted. The Word rises within us, opening us up to Him.  The good rains fall over us, and we grow more, blossoming happily in Son Light.

A perfect vision–until the storms. Struck with punishing rains, pummeled by hail, buffeted by gales. Weather-beaten. We ask: “How do we stand tall before the Son?”

A transformation must occur. Changing. Becoming stronger to withstand the storms of life through recognition of our weakness. Not standing tall but bowing down, His Hand lifting us up as we  re-germinate, arise again, open anew, endure the trials, mature and grow.

                      Becoming more like Him. Kneeling before Him.                     

Henceforth from now on, from this day forward, hereafter with Him.

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We come to Christ through a seed planted from God, maybe through our parents, a Bible school teacher, a friend, a colleague, a preacher, a Bible on a motel room stand. The Word takes form within us, shaping us, enabling us to see Him in His glory, in His goodness, in His sacrifice, in His love. The Son sends a Light we have never known before. Happily, we choose to die to our old self in baptism and come up out of the water a new and forgiven soul.

But the initial bliss is tested as storms and trials do come. The fruit from the tree of life has been tasted before us. The promise is not Eden before the fall. Yet, there is the promise of a Helper to get us through difficult times. How we react and reach out to Him for sustenance and refuge determines our growth and transformation.

We don’t stand tall before the Son. We bow down and look up, clasping our hands in prayer to the One who hears, to the One who waits, to the One who holds us close.

Becoming more like Him. Kneeling before Him.

Henceforth from now on, from this day forward, hereafter with Him.

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But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.  (2 Peter 3:18)

(Sharon G. Tate blog 05/19/19) teacherforjesus.com  Meditations on God’s Word