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Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen! (Ephesians 3:20-21).

In our text, Paul prays that God will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus. The church and Christ Jesus belong together, Jesus died and rose again for the sake of the church. \u201cI will build my church,\u201d he said, after Peter\u2019s profession of faith. The book of Revelation shows us that in the end, all glory will be given to God for his great work of redeeming the cosmos. The church is the first fruits of this redeeming work. We are meant to be the first to give him glory!

But we resist!

And if you are a Star Trek fan, you will know the phrase, \u201cResistance is futile.\u201d But in the Christian life, resistance is not futile. Let me explain. John expresses God\u2019s heart with these famous words, \u201cFor God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life\u201d (John 3:16). What does eternal life look like? Jesus explains, \u201cAs I have loved you, so you must love one another\u201d (John 13:34).

Eternal life is not some future existence. It is life lived by Jesus\u2019 Spirit and in Jesus\u2019 resurrection power now and here on this earth. This is what we resist. We do not want to live the life of love, its too difficult. It calls for too much sacrifice. That is why Paul\u2019s second outrageous and audacious request in Ephesians 3 is, \u201cAnd I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord\u2019s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ\u2026

To say that the Christian life is all about love is not an understatement. This is the way of it, like it or not, if you want to be a Christian, life will be about love. First, we are rooted, a botanical image and established, an architectural image, in love. This is our foundation. Nothing else will do except God\u2019s love towards us in Christ. It is the bedrock of the Christian life: that we are loved by God out of our sin and death riddled existence into the wonderful life of Christ.

Each of us, must have this experience individually. But the Christian life is not an individual life. If we are to truly know this love, we must know it together. Only as we live it out together can we begin to plummet its vastness. This love is not something we just receive, it begins there, but only as it flows through us towards other Christians, that is the church, and beyond, can we say that we know this love.

This prayer assumes that the Christian life is not automatic. Life from God comes as a gift, but it is not magic. It is a life of engagement, cooperation with God\u2019s Spirit, who makes Christ and his love known. Life is relational, and relations require time and investment. God intended from the first for humans to live in relation to him and with each other. With God\u2019s Spirit taking up residence in us, that intent is realized.

When the church met regularly on Sundays it was easy to assume we were is relation with each other. Now that we do not meet regularly, how will be live in loving relationship with each other? That is a question each of us must answer. Love is action. What will you do?

You can try to resist the Spirit\u2019s work, but in the end the Spirit will lead you into the life of love. So, let\u2019s stop resisting and let\u2019s walk in step with the Spirit.