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Then and Now ...

Wednesday, Nov 17, 2010. We continue with reading Ephesians, the letter of the apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus. It is part of several New Testament letters, which mirror the situation of the early Christian churches. The gospels, the letters and the revelation reflect the foundation of Christian faith.

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Past situation, and what changed …

Today, we move on in Chapter 2 of the letter. Paul writes:

11 You need to remember that at one time, you were from the nations who had no real knowledge of God. The Israelite nation, who practice circumcision, talked about you (i.e. looked down on you) as the “uncircumcised” nations. 12 At that time, you had no contact with Christ. You were not part of the community of God’s people Israel, and had no part in the agreement God had made with them. You had no hope of any better life and lived in this world without any relationship with God. 13 But now, those of you who were far away from God have been brought close to him because Christ died for you.

When I read these lines, I am always struck by this strong emphasis of now and then. Paul clearly sees a huge difference between a life which does not know God, and a life which has become “close to God”, which has been redeemed.

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Where am I in the Past and Now? …

When I read this I am also drawn to think about where I am in this process. Personally, I have come to faith in Jesus many years ago. Before that, I have been searching for the truth. I have been searching for a clear understanding of what the bible talks about - and other religions as well. And from my personal point of view I have to say: I experienced this strong change Paul is talking about. It was not a change which took place on one day. It took a while … but nevertheless it was a reality in my life.

Over the past years I have gained much more confidence in faith. It is still faith, and still questions arise, doubt can come any time - in principle. But the more I have been moving on in faith, the clearer the New Testament became, I found some stability in faith. I do not like people who have a very firm doctrine and are not open to discuss, to question and to learn more. But my stability is more a stability which arose on the basis of many discussions, of many doubts, of many questions. I would say it is a critical stability, a faith which has passed the test of critical questions again and again.

But perhaps it is not the most important thing HOW you came to Christ. It is important THAT you came. With him, there is the hope and future, Paul is talking about. Where are you in this process? ... more texts

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