A Casual Friend and an Un-Casual Conversation

I have a casual friend.

Let’s call her Wendy.

She’s such a casual friend that I don’t even know her last name.

But Wendy and I just had a very un-casual conversation.

About the Bible.

“You know,” she says, “some people don’t believe much of it is true. I didn’t used to . . .”

I can’t wait to hear where she’s going with this.

Wendy continues, “. . . until I went through the worst time of my life last year. And now I do. Now I do believe it’s all true. Because I’m seeing my life in the pages.”

See what I mean about an un-casual conversation?

“Some people,” she adds, “write in a journal. Not me. When I see something about my life on a page in the Bible I write about it right there on the page where I read it. In words that make sense to me.”

Seeing her life in the pages . . . 

I love Wendy’s approach.

Not to get all philosophical, but something in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians has me wondering.

If seeing our lives coming alive in the pages is the same as seeing the pages coming alive in our lives.

Ponder that a moment.

I’ll circle back around shortly.

In the meantime, here’s what Paul writes:

God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us made us alive together with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

(Ephesians 2:4-6 ESV)

The part about the heavenly places has me stumped.

What does that even mean?

Specifically and practically?

Paul says we’re seated with God there.

So heavenly places feel important to understand.

After reading difficult-to-understand-and-deeply-theological explanations, I discover a simple explanation in my great-great Aunt Anna’s Bible.

If you’ve been reading with me for a while, you may remember her Bible. 

In which she underlined nearly every word.

In red.

Because nearly every word felt important to her.

Surprisingly, she didn’t underline heavenly places.

But at the bottom of that page, the study tools explain:

The “heavenly places” may best be defined as the spiritual sphere where spiritual things,

visible and invisible,

are happening on earth. 

Simply put, the sphere where God’s Holy Spirit is at work.

What we can see and understand.

And what we can’t.

In the world.

And in our worlds.

A sphere where we are seated with God.

Near enough to feel His presence.

Speak to Him.

And hear Him speaking.

What a picture.

So circling back to Wendy . . . 

I love how she sees her life in the pages.

But I see the pages in her life.

Coming alive.

What I mean by that is that I see God’s Spirit at work.

In Wendy’s sphere.

Using her difficult circumstances and His Word to move her from unbelief to belief.

Which encourages me to invite this page of Paul’s letter to come alive in my life.

By cultivating an alertness for evidence of the Spirit’s movement in my sphere.

In my circumstances.

And in me.

Trusting God with what I can see and understand.

And what I can’t.

Today I’ll underline heavenly places in Aunt Anna’s Bible.

In red.

Because, as it turns out, they feel like important words.

See you in a couple weeks.

Love,