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Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To God\u2019s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:1-3)

While we\u2019ve kept the music and graphics the same, we\u2019re going to start in on a new series this week that hopefully connects well with our 1 Samuel series. \xa0The theme for both being this idea of growing up to maturity in Christ. \xa0

It\u2019s interesting that in each of these first four verses of the letter, God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son are both mentioned. \xa0Four times each alongside various references to God\u2019s people. \xa0God\u2019s will is active, God\u2019s people are responsive. \xa0Jesus\u2019s grace and peace are flowing, as are his blessings, and again, we his people respond in praise.

Throughout the letter of Ephesians, Paul is constantly knitting together the smaller stories of our own lives with the larger, universal, eternal story of God\u2019s work in Christ. \xa0To become mature is a continual work of seeking to see God\u2019s story in and as our own.

Of course, in the day-to-day grind that can be a challenge. \xa0We have jobs to do, children to raise, parents to care after, errands to run, books to read, shows to watch, notifications to chase, leaves to rake, food to prepare, and garbage to take out. \xa0These are all things that we can do on our own seemingly without God\u2019s help or counsel, and so we usually do. \xa0 \xa0

It often takes something like an accident, diagnosis, or death to jar us out of the ordinary and into pondering what God\u2019s up to beyond the flow of our hours and weeks. \xa0In those moments, we\u2019re caught looking toward the heavenly realms to be reminded of just what those spiritual blessings were that we received in Christ. \xa0We seek to be reminded of the bigger story we\u2019ve been caught up in, a story that goes beyond just our own work, family, and food. \xa0

That\u2019s the story Paul\u2019s writing about as he begins this letter to the Ephesians. \xa0He\u2019s talking about the cosmic actions and decisions of God that span from before the creation of the world until the times reach their fulfillment. \xa0He\u2019s talking about not just individuals, but every individual that ever was or will be\u2014nations, peoples, cultures, and continents. \xa0

It is a story of the entirety of the Earthly Creation, all of which will be brought to unity together with every heavenly thing under Christ. \xa0It is the story of how heaven and earth meet\u2014how God\u2019s realm and ours are reconciled together into one through Christ. \xa0

Whether in the ordinary moments of grinding out the days, or in those exceptional moments where the carpet has been pulled from under us\u2014this larger story of God in Christ is always the background of our own. \xa0Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that it is, for it is in this story that we find the meaning, hope, and faith that can sustain our own.

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