Spiritual Neuroplasticity
16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. - Ephesians 1:16-23 English Standard Version (ESV)
In our current pandemic, quarantined, social distancing situation, I’ve been feeling like I’ve been missing something crucial to living - not quite like missing a limb, but maybe like missing one of my senses. I’m talking to friends and coworkers over video conferences all the time, and yet feel so distant - the interactions are literally two dimensional rather than three dimensional.
The concept of cross modal neuroplasticity (what?) explains that when we lose one of our senses, our God formed brain adapts to strengthen our other senses - explaining the phenomenon that blind people for example often have better hearing.
This concept made me wonder about Romans 8:28 - how God can use our current situation (for some, certainly more acutely stressful and difficult than for others) to strengthen our spiritual senses, e.g. the ‘eyes of our heart’ referenced in Ephesians 1:18. It’s certainly appropriate during this Lent season that we reflect on how God can use this time for our hearts, as many things that we may rely on for security and peace (i.e. idols) are being challenged - our finances and jobs / careers are threatened by the loss of work and stock market volatility, our relationships are limited to video interaction (or too much interaction with those in our household), our educational opportunities have shut down or pared back significantly, and our wisdom is mere foolishness in the face of a virus that has been confusing and took many of us by surprise. In fact, we may be even more aware of our sin and need these days, as our routines have changed and there are more stressors in our lives - but we may struggle to try to live our lives as if nothing has changed.
During Lent it is tempting to focus on what we do not have, but the intent of the season is to focus on what we do have as Christians, i.e. Christ himself. Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1 reminds me how we can spend our entire lifetimes pursuing Christ but will only scratch the surface of knowing Him and knowing what it means to find our sufficiency and security in Jesus alone. By focusing on Scriptural truth, we can strengthen our spiritual senses and be transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12:2) Let’s look at a few verses:
V.18 ‘The hope to which he has called you’ - Hope in Christ is not like the hope that we can go back to our daily routines, jobs, and relationships. The hope He offers is that we as a saved people will see him face to face one day, will be free of sickness, sorrow, and shame, and will truly experience life as sons and daughters of the Creator of the universe. Take a moment to thank God for Christ’s free gift of salvation and the hope that one day He will restore our lives and world to be as He intended it. Jesus understands how challenging this time is for each of us individually, and offers his peace, presence, and comfort today.
V.18 ‘The riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints’ - Whether this refers to the inheritance we receive as saints or the community of believers being the actual inheritance, we have the assurance that the Christian life is one of abundance and not scarcity. By believing that we are heirs of the King, we can give to and serve others out of the ways Jesus has served us. What would it look like to be generous to our friends, family and neighbors, during this time of scarcity, especially while we ourselves may be struggling?
V.19 ‘The immeasurable greatness of his power towards us who believe’ - This power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that has saved us, helps us resist and overcome sin, empowers us to live for Him and not ourselves, and sustains us until the very end. It’s in light of this power that we are called to pray for non-believer friends and family, for our world’s leaders, and for mercy and respite during this time of suffering. Take some time to pray bold intercessory prayers, knowing that our prayers often fall short in expectation compared to what God is actually able to do.
May each disappointment, frustration, sorrow, pang of loneliness, and bout of anger during this season be a prompt to ask God to remind us that he can provide for our deepest needs, and a prompt to ask God to change our hearts. May we grow in experiencing the truth of Jesus’ words - “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
References
“Super Powers for the Blind and Deaf”, Scientific American, 2012.
“Neuroplasticity and Spiritual Growth: Weaving Circuits of Faith”, Lutheran Education Journal, 2012.
“How God Opens the Eyes of the Heart”, John Piper, 2017.
“What God Wants You to Know”, Bible.org
-Ed Park is a part of the CoaH Brookline elder track, leads a CG with his wife, Kim, and serves on the finance team