Jen’s Gem:  God’s love for you never ends.

Yesterday was National Grammar Day. I shared a silly post on Facebook riddled with spelling and other errors. Having spent twelve years in Catholic school, one thing I learned is proper sentence structure and spelling.

While I can’t claim to remember all the rules, one thing that the nuns emphasized was to avoid run on sentences. They taught us the proper use of commas and other punctuation so that our writing would be understood.

I have vivid memories of proofreading my children’s homework and passing along these rules, which sadly our educational system has forgotten. Diagramming sentences and grammar lessons seem to have gone the way of the dodo bird.

The apostle Paul was an extremely learned man (Acts 22:3), having been taught by the best of the best. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of Jewish law.

Did you know that he also wrote nearly two thirds of the New Testament? One passage in the book of Ephesians caught my eye recently and I want to share it with you. Warning – take a deep breath!

“Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,  do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” (Ephesians 1: 15-21 NKJV)

I hope I didn’t lose you! It’s a mouthful, isn’t it?

Did you notice that there is only one period in this passage? Talk about your run-on sentence! Yet despite the need to put on an oxygen mask after reading through these verses, if you look closely, you can feel Paul’s heart pour out to the Ephesian people as he shares his hopes and desires that they know who Jesus is and the promises that are guaranteed for them.

Spirit of wisdom and understanding. Hope of His calling. Riches of His inheritance. Exceeding greatness of His power. It’s a veritable laundry list! No wonder Paul ditched the grammar rules! I can just picture him writing this –

“May give to you the spirit of wisdom…. Oh wait! There’s knowledge, too. Oh and understanding. Oohh – can’t forget about the riches of His glory. Yikes! I almost forgot about the greatness of His power.”

I can sense his excitement as his quill pen likely ran out of ink towards the end.

Paul’s intention in writing the book of Ephesians was to remind the people of how amazing Jesus is, to encourage them, to give them hope, to tell them that they are loved beyond measure, cared for nonstop, that they have a purpose, and most importantly, that they have an eternal home in heaven.  No wonder he went on and on!

God’s love, mercy, and grace towards those He loves and who love Him never ends.

Period.