With all wisdom and insight God has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
Ephesians 1:8a-10
I suffer from spiritual myopia, nearsightedness. It is chronic and debilitating. I can see things right under my eye, up close, but the distance is blurry. I am prone to fixate on today’s news, today’s politics, and my problems, such that I cannot see the big picture of what God has in store for the world!
For correcting physical myopia, ophthalmologists prescribe the 20-20-20- RULE. That means, every 20 minutes turning away from what is close to look at something at least 20 feet away for 20 seconds. I am devoted to the Bible’s 20-20-20 RULE for correcting my spiritual myopia by often turning away from what is close, immediate, in order to look at the glorious future God has planned for our lives and universe.
I am practicing the Bible’s 20-20-20 RULE today by reflecting on today’s scripture in which the apostle Paul turns away from looking at his prison cell to the big picture of what God is doing in the world. Paul speaks here of God having made known “the mystery of his will”, that is, God’s redemption of the world in Christ. God makes known His “plan for the fullness of time”, that is, when history has fully run its course He will “gather up all things in Christ”.
The phrase “to gather up all things” translates the Greek anakephalaioo which is a compound word: ana, meaning “again,” or “anew” + kephale meaning “head.” Thus, anakephalaioo means “to bring together under one head”, i.e., under one authority and leader. The word expresses the idea of gathering into one harmonious whole all that is scattered and separated. The J. B. Philips version translates Paul’s words as “God purposes in his sovereign will that all human history shall be consummated in Christ, that everything that exists in Heaven or earth shall find its perfection and fulfillment in Him.”
What a radically different and glorious vision for our world than that peddled by the secular culture. Take for example, best selling evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins who is led to conclude: “The universe has no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.” (River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life) Or, there is famed social commentator and journalist Christopher Hitchens who wrote: “Life is a brief, meaningless episode in a vast, indifferent universe.” (God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything)
As followers of Jesus, we frequently look beyond today’s news and difficulties to see that God is at work to bring all things together into glorious harmony under Christ. Everything that happens is woven with God’s purpose and will. All things come from God, are sustained by God, and exist for God! Alleluia!
“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory for ever. Amen.“
Romans 11:36
