Friday, November 9, 2007

A Martial Artist Looks at Ephesians 3:14-21, Part 5

Ephesians 3:19
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

One of the coolest things to me about martial arts is that there is always more: more to learn, more to perfect, more to experience. No matter what my rank is, there is a next one. The first time I tied on my black belt my overwhelming thought was how much more there is ahead of me to learn; so much more ahead of me than I have learned so far. No matter how many times I practice a kata, there is always something deeper, something new that I didn’t see before. No matter how much I practice, there is always something to work on, something that is not perfect. I am constantly discovering new things to learn and practice, and that it is the journey that I find fulfilling, not the destination, because I will never master it all.

My spiritual life is the same. The love of Christ is so great that I will never fully grasp it all. I experience it but there is always more of it. So many times I feel like, “I have it, I see it, I get it!” And I do… yet there is more. It is deeper than I see, more powerful than I understand. There are so many little intricacies hidden within it that I have yet to discover, so much more ahead of me than there is behind me. Just like you never “arrive” in martial arts, you never fully understand God’s love. But the journey along the way fills you up constantly.


Ephesians 3:20-21
Now glory be to God! By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. May He be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen

Martial arts has taught me more than I ever imagined it would. I am not sure what I expected when I began training, I think that I was just looking for something interesting to do. But what I found was a passion and a way of life, and my life has not been the same since. I never dreamed that it would take me on the path it has, I could not have known the path even existed.

God is like that. He will accomplish more in my life than I know is possible. I can not ask, dream, or hope for all the things He can do, because I do not yet know that they even exist. Who knows what the future holds? Glory be to God!


Rebecca A Givens

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