The Biggest Adventure of Your Life

Have you noticed that there is a limit to what can be learned about a loved one simply by observation? We learn the deepest, most intimate details about someone through revelation; that is to say, through the self-disclosure of our beloved. And getting to know people in this way is relatively straightforward, provided that we are prepared to listen and ask the right questions. But how do we develop a deep knowledge of our most significant Beloved given that He is invisible and seldom talks to us with audible words?

The good news is that our Beloved is the one who takes the initiative! Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better” (1:17). God has given us His Spirit through Whom He reveals Himself. Why? “so that” – purpose – “[we] may know him better”.

It would delight Jesus to reveal His heart to you, and God has given you His Spirit to make it possible. Paul thought that the need to know Jesus was so important that he placed it at the top of his list of prayer requests for the Ephesians. Indeed, Paul underlined the importance of the request by its repetition: “I have not stopped ... I keep asking” (1:16&17).  And Paul’s dogged prayers remind us that God delights to reveal Himself to those that persistently ask Him to – are you? Ask Jesus to bear His heart to you. In fact, keep asking and do not stop!

Paul develops the theme of knowing Christ further in 4:20-24. Here, Paul is in the process of describing a “life worthy of the calling you have received” (4:1), emphasising the need for purity. He begins by contrasting life before and after salvation, exhorting the Ephesians to live the latter. Significantly, it is coming to “know Christ” (v20) that liberates us from the futile thinking (v17), the darkened understanding and the lifelessness (v18) of the old life.

Therefore, let us look at verses 20 and 21 in a little more detail. It is momentous to discover that not only is Christ the subject (“learn Christ”) and teacher (“heard Christ”), but He is also the place of learning. For Paul writes that the Ephesians were “taught in Him”. It is the Spirit in you that places you in Christ, and since the Spirit is in you all the time, it is possible for you to “learn Christ” in every moment and circumstance of your life! Could this discovery change the trajectory of your life? May your reply be a resounding YES!

However, you must translate the possible into the actual. Let us not forget that we are attempting to answer a “how” question: how can I seek the self disclosure of my beloved Saviour so that I may know Him better? The basis for Christ’s self disclosure has already been established: God has given us the Spirit of revelation who places us in Christ, making every moment an opportunity to learn Christ. To activate a learning relationship with Christ, we must seek it daily through prayer.

In verses 22 to 24, Paul provides two more keys for translating the possible into the actual. He uses the image of dressing and undressing to describe salvation. His point is clear: to enjoy an intimate relationship with Jesus, you must be converted.

But the quest for relationship doesn’t end with conversion. The process of getting to know Christ continues as you are “made new in the attitude of your mind”. What does it mean to be made new in the attitude of the mind? The word translated “attitude” may be translated “spirit”. So Paul is not referring to a particular set of beliefs or world view but rather a mind-set or posture of the mind. What sort of attitude or mind-set would make you a good student of Jesus? Good students have a teachable attitude; they want to learn; and - perhaps most importantly - they are willing to obey their teacher.

The tense of the verb “to be made new” in the Greek describes an action which is ongoing. This is because man’s biggest, ongoing struggle is submission and obedience to God. You want to run your life in your own way and on your own terms. Therefore, you must renew the attitude of your mind daily, reminding yourself of the need to submit and obey.

The biggest adventure of your life awaits you. The Creator of all things and yet the Lover of your soul is longing to reveal Himself to you. He wants to become your teacher. Every passing moment and each daily experience could become a means to knowing Him better. And it all starts with conversion. Then it grows with a desire to be a student of Jesus, a desire expressed daily through prayer. Jesus will reveal Himself to those that long to know Him more. And finally, it is cultivated by renewing the attitude of the mind – seeking and developing a teachable attitude characterised by a submissive and obedient spirit.