"Because of this do not be coming to be foolish, but rather be understanding what [is] the want of the Lord..."
-Is it not the fool who says in his heart, there is no God? I.E. this oh-so-greater-than-I Being with Whom I have to do? Or at he least lives like it. Don’t be a fool, Paul says. Don’t be phren-less. Phren is the thinking, understanding mind. So, don’t be mindless, witless, thoughtless, brainless, unintelligent. Don’t let this happen to you, men and women of Ephesus - you have begun well, having trusted in Christ, now finish! Don’t let yourself become a statistic, one of those who gets sucked back in by the world. Don’t live your moments and days and lives like there is no God Who cares about you and what you do. Rather, let your mind and desires flow together and be joined with what the Lord wants.
-A beautiful word picture, this - the confluence of two rivers flowing together and joining together as one, merging into an indistinguishable whole. There is a town in Germany called Koblenz, whose name actually derives from the Latin word ‘confluere’ - there the Rhine and Moselle rivers meet and merge, the beautiful Moselle caught up into the mighty waters of the Rhine, once joined becoming inseparable, indistinguishable. This is a perfect picture of what can and should happen with those who follow the Lord, who are walking as children of Light and are trying to learn what pleases Him (cf Ephesians 5.8-10). Our wants and desires merge with what He wants, flowing together and becoming indistinguishable. His wants and desires become our own - we are thus transformed into men and women after His own heart, always doing the things which are pleasing to Him, just like Jesus (John 8.29, 2Corinthians 5.9, 1Thessalonians 2..4, Hebrews 13.21, 1John 3.22). And really, what better place is there to be than caught up smack dab into the heart of the Happiest Being in the universe, in Whose presence is fullness of joy, in Whose right hand are pleasures forever?
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