In 2 Cor 6:8–10Paul describes his life “…as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing everything.”
And look at 1 Cor 7:29–31, “The time has grown very short; from now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it.”
This is the paradox of living between two addresses. We are “citizens of heaven” who are summoned to “go into all the world.” We live in both, simultaneously, but which one claims our greater loyalty? That’s the point.
Clearly, heaven is our destination, but there’s more: to be a “citizen of heaven” is to carry the passport and to be answerable to the authorities of that far country. And right now we reside not in the Sweet Bye and Bye but in the Nasty Here and Now (as someone put it).
So how do we live? Ephesians 5:15-20 lays it out carefully:
“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The paradox between that heaven and earth residency is echoed by the “evil days” of v16 and the call to be thankful for “everything” in verse 20. Verse 16: “Making the most of the time, because the days are evil.” Verse 20: “Always and for everything giving thanks.”
Paul is not naïve about the world. He says the days are evil. In Gal 1:4, he said that “Christ gave himself for our sins to deliver us from this present evil age.” So he brings warnings and calls God’s people to be alert.
V15 “Look carefully then how you walk.”
V17 “Do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
But don’t be overwhelmed by the need to be alert! Have fun! v19 says that we should be full of JOY. We should make melody to the Lord in our hearts. Our emotions, not just our minds, should be engaged. “Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The thing is that we must be careful about our walk in the world and yet carefree about the outcome of our lives. Vigilant yet secure. Careful yet carefree.
You can see the call for vigilance and carefulness in v15: “Look carefully then how you walk.” v16: “Since the days are evil be alert how you can snatch up every opportunity for good.” v17: “Don’t be foolish. Apply your mind. Think through what the will of the Lord is.”
And yet…
But on the other hand you can see the restful, thankful peace, especially in v19. What amazes me about v19 is not that we are supposed to sing songs of thanks to God, but that we are to have a musical heart.
“Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks…”
How do I hold these things together? How do I manage the paradox between living in evil days and being thankful for everything? How do I manage -at the same time – both a rigorous self analysis and a thankful exultation?
I know people who are good at one or the other. I know dreamers and I know nitpickers. But both together? That’s a trick worth learning.
And there’s something else here too. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is all about survival strategy in time of war. Don’t forget that he was in prison as he wrote, and conscious that quite soon, his life would be taken from him. As it was.
And Paul knew full well that the people who had made Jesus their Lord were vulnerable to persecution and faced daily threats. It was no easy option or leisure-time activity.
And spiritually too, he understood the massive psychic conflict that was underway between Good and Evil. He describes it in startling terms in Ephesians 6 as war between heaven and hell. And in this war, we stand, sometimes confusedly, centre-stage, desperately in need of information about what is happening to us. Peter offered encouragement in the same kind of context: 1 Peter 4:12: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”
So Paul describes that paradox between being vigilant people at war and being thankful people at peace.
And this is the work of the Holy Spirit: “Do not be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Spirit!” Only in the power and influence of God can God uncover for you the mystery of gratitude for all things, even when the days are evil, and the pleasures of exultation even in the midst of analysis, and the peace that passes all understanding even in the vigilance of our daily conflict with evil.
Urgency and gratitude. Held together in one heart by the work of the Holy Spirit.
Both and.
It’s a paradox. And when I am fretful and fearful about my future, I remember that God has my back and I’m eternally safe with Him. And when I’m cocky and complacent, I remember that I must “work out my own salvation with fear and trembling.”
But there, where I live, right in the middle, my way forward is simple. It’s to make music from my heart and live a life of such joy and freedom that folks wonder what’s making me smile.
Dr Ken Baker 