I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. Ephesians 1:18-19

St. Paul tells us to look with eyes of the heart, and to see nothing less than the Kingdom of God. Our physical eyes will not do for this task. Paul tells us we must see with spiritual vision, which means looking beyond the riches and cares of this world to see the “glorious inheritance” that awaits us.

What is this hope to which we’re called? What is the glorious inheritance? Obviously — and amazingly! — it is the Salvation we have in Christ. In and through his atoning sacrifice, and The Way of the Gospel, we have the keys to unlock the gates of death itself.

But, our inheritance is more than the hope for life after this life. Yes, our sins are wiped clean and we live after death. But, we also have the ability and the calling to realize and live in the Kingdom in this life.

When we live as one with God and with our neighbor, when we follow Christ’s example of radical, self-sacrificial love, our inheritance expands beyond concern for what happens at death. Our concern becomes life. And the focus of that life shifts to the outpouring of God’s love — love that has the incomparably great power to transform this world into the Kingdom, into a communion of God’s children living in The Way of Christ.

That is the hope to which we are called. To salvation, yes. But, hope also calls us to transform this world through the love Christ taught us — through a love that can banish hunger, poverty, war, and persecution for all God’s children.

The eyes of this world will tell you that’s impossible. But when we look with the eyes of the heart, opened and enlightened by the Holy Spirit, we see it is not just possible. It is inevitable. With Christ’s love, it is inevitable. That is power. That is power too great to compare to anything offered by this world.

Eternal God, enlighten the eyes of our hearts to see the incomparably great power of your love, and the ways you would have us work to transform this world into your Kingdom. Amen.