DISNEYLAND | Shaun Hadden

I love going over to friends’ houses! But you know just as well as me that some friends' houses are better than others. There are usually two types of houses: the ones that you dread to go to and the ones that you wish you could stay at forever.

At the house you dread, it feels like an exam, every word and move you make is being noted by your friends’ parents and they are ready to fail you. You feel frozen and stiff; you can’t relax. You have to know the right thing to say and when to say it. You might love that friend, but going over to their house is hard work. 

On the other hand, there is the friend with the best parents ever. When you go over to their place, it feels like a free DisneyLand pass; you can get whatever you want out of the fridge, you can lay on the couch, turn the TV on, even walk in the door without knocking! This house is the best! You feel comfortable, relaxed and you enjoy being there.

The feeling of a good friend’s house is the same feeling that Paul is writing about in Ephesians 3. The promises that were once only for the Jews, Jesus has now made available for everyone. The blessing of Christ doesn’t exclude, anyone who wants it can have it. God has not set a test that you need to pass.

You can have the same freedom and confidence approaching God that you do going into that friend’s house. We can do this not because of something we’ve done, but because of God’s love for us and what He has done.

My favourite part of this chapter is the end, where we read what we have received. We have received God’s love: unconditional, unexplainable, unimaginable and unchangeable. It is such a relief to know that we don’t need to strive or earn God’s approval and love. Jesus died on the cross so that every person on earth – no matter how good or how bad they are – can receive God’s grace. The God who loves us so much He made a way for all to freely access His fullness.