I once enjoyed a dinner like no other at an outdoor restaurant in Mexico. Fabulous food, braziers of coals heating our backs, peacocks strutting between the tables. The restaurant served other patrons as well, but I enjoyed the food and the company and the service so much that it left a wonderful impression and I now describe it in superfluous language. It was unparalleled to me.

One of a kind. Unmatched. Unique. Unequaled. I toss such descriptions around as I search for ways to describe fascinating people and enjoyable experiences.

Paul reminds me that God is one of a kind: There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

One God is over all and through all and in all—only one. A solitary path ascends to the top of the mountain—only one. An exclusive gate opens to heaven—only one.

There’s only one God. Try as people might to squirm out of this reality, the truth remains. Only one God exists and it’s not me, nor is God found in any other religion or creed or belief system. One Lord, one faith, one baptism.

Only one.

Ephesians 4:4-6

Photo by Jordan Steranka

I’ll admit that I’m guilty of enjoying snarky comments. Who doesn’t like a good mocking? Social media allows me to peer without partaking. The voyeuristic impulse to watch others self-destruct lies only a few clicks away. But even if I only observe, a corroding influence still splashes over.

Paul wrote to a group of Jesus-followers, encouraging them on right ways of living. He included this thought: Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

I rarely spout harsh or dishonest words. I’m good at keeping my mouth shut in most situations. But that doesn’t mean I don’t take sly pleasure when others launch sarcastic attacks. Sometimes the truth should be spoken. But in our world innuendo and deceit bury the truth, making it difficult to sort right from wrong.

I can choose where my eyeballs roam. Social media jabber that bashes another does me no good. Even if I don’t say it, and haven’t even thought it until I read it, such interactions corrupt my nature, and subvert the work of grace in my life.

If we took away all the soiled blather from our feeds we’d not have much left—which would be just fine. We’re better off with a book or out on a walk. Corrosive talk, in all forms, tears down. Let us ask the Lord to make us better at building up, and spreading the grace of God to all who will hear.

Ephesians 4:29

Photo by Zsolt Palatinus

Bright ideas come from all sorts of places. When facing a problem I often need to branch outside my regular circles of influence to find a fresh solution. It serves me to read broadly, to listen to people I don’t know, and to not discount a solution just because it sounds unusual. Did you know epsom salts can help break up an old tree stump? I learned of this yesterday and will give it a try come spring. I had no idea…

Moses faced a daunting challenge, serving as the judge and jury over the entire nation of Israel. With a population of well over a million people, plenty of disputes landed in his lap. The people stood before him from morning to evening. Can you imagine a worse way to spend your day, listening to the arguments of angry people, many over petty issues of neighbors and family members?

Jethro, Moses’s father-in-law, rescued Moses with a brilliant idea. He sat Moses down and gave him this advice: Look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. Let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.

This proposal spread the responsibility for adjudicating disputes among hundreds of trustworthy and capable leaders. It lightened Moses’s load, and initiated the chosen arbiters into a new level of authority. Israel, a collection of tribal families fresh from slavery, needed to quickly grow into a self-sustaining nation. Appointing this set of judges helped develop a leadership base where none existed before.

Jethro was not a Hebrew. As an outsider he brought a fresh perspective to the problem. His wisdom saved Moses days of mind-numbing tedium, and as a bonus the people got their disputes solved quicker. Jethro’s discerning counsel benefited the entire nation, and I’m reminded that good ideas are good ideas, regardless of where they come from.

Exodus 18:21-22

Photo by AbsolutVision

I was taught in high school and college to keep my sentences short. Since then I’ve read a number of books about writing (always trying to improve), and all offer the same advice. Among other things, a reader processes short sentences better, thus making complex ideas simpler to follow.

But the Apostle Paul, the most prolific of Biblical authors, spurned such advice. He preferred the comma over the period. Check out this one sentence from his letter to the Ephesians:

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.

I hate to critique the most-read author who ever lived, but Paul’s style makes it hard to follow his complex thoughts. Following his argument is like peering into a deep pool, the bottom undefined, or as Paul himself put it, looking into a mirror dimly.

But when I take my time and break down this dizzying sentence, beauty emerges. Paul prays that we may experience the wisdom and power of our Lord Jesus Christ. God called us to riches beyond our imagining, and Paul prays that the eyes of our hearts will light up with this knowledge.

What I appreciate about Paul’s style is how it draws me into truth. I want to gaze into that pool, to dive into his teachings. The wisdom of God and the power of Jesus indeed exist. It takes unhurried thought and to be honest, hard work to mull it all over. But within this long glorious sentence lies the spark to set our hearts afire.

Ephesians 1:15-21

Photo by Zhuo Cheng you