I is for Immeasurably

This twelve-letter adverb plays a flamboyant role in a favorite Bible verse. But first let’s break it down.

As a verb, measure means “to ascertain the extent, dimensions, quantity, capacity, etc., of, especially by comparison with a standard:” Measurable is the related adjective meaning “capable of being measured.” Measurably is the adverb form, which www.dictionary.com refuses to expand upon, so I just have to remember that while an adjective modifies a noun, an adverb modifies a verb or an adjective.

Are you still with me? I’m not certain I’m still with me.

An immeasurably better burger

So now if I add the prefix im onto measurable, it becomes immeasurable, meaning “incapable of being measured; limitless.” And the adverb becomes immeasurably. In the sentence, This hamburger is immeasurably better than the one you burned, the adverb immeasurably modifies the adjective better. 

How can I diagram a sentence in a blog?**

I think we’re all more than ready to leave words and proceed to the Word and the favorite verse. Ephesians 3:20 is the benediction to Paul’s prayer for his readers. Here’s the whole prayer for context with the verse highlighted:

¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

            There are other places in Scripture which tell us God answers our prayers, such as:  “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11, NIV—You can get what you need at 7-11.) And, “…your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” (Matthew 6:8, NIV)

            But there’s something about that word immeasurably that’s makes me like Ephesians 3:20 immeasurably more. Sure it’s great that God knows what I need before I ask, but what if I don’t know what to ask for? What if my imagination is limited?

            It’s like what I wrote about Moses in a Secret Place devotion some time ago: Moses imagined he could help the enslaved Israelites by killing one oppressive foreman. Compared to God in the imagination department, Moses was somewhat limited. God drowned the entire Egyptian army after sending the Israelites across the Red Sea on dry land. Now that took care of the oppression problem.

http://blog.youversion.com/2014/09/new-bible-app-for-kids-story-parting-the-red-sea-the-ten-commandments/

            I long to be not limited by my pea-sized imagination. I long to tap the power of God’s ginormous imagination. How about you?

** 

A diagrammed sentence on a blog--and just in time for Independence Day!

Bold Approach

            I can explain the flashback.

            As a child I had eagerly watched The Wizard of Oz whenever it played on television. Not only that, I had read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the rest of the books in the Oz series by original author L. Frank Baum and also the ones by Ruth Plumly Thompson. (There’s nothing like Wikipedia to jog the aging memory. It even provides pictures of the original covers, making me warm and fuzzy with a nostalgia overdose.)

            Not only that, I wanted to live in Oz. I wanted to be Dorothy. In my mind I was Dorothy. If you doubt my obsession, contact my sister Taffy, the quilt maker. (www.taffyspaloss.blogspot.com) A couple of years ago she presented me with a quilt featuring scenes from the movie:  Dorothy walks down the yellow brick road, arms linked with the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion. Ruby slippers and striped stockings stick out from beneath a house. The green-faced witch gazes into her crystal ball. You get the idea. And the back of the quilt is a field of poppies, the magic poppies that made Dorothy and the Lion sleep.

            I was thrilled to receive the quilt. (I would share a photo if I only had a brain.) My inner child would gladly return to Oz in the time it takes to click my heels together.

            The Wizard of Oz was my gateway drug into speculative fiction. Oz made is possible for me to subsequently inhabit Middle Earth, the Alpha Quadrant of Star Trek, the Whorl of Firebird by Kathy Tyers, and some random planets a long time ago in a galaxy far away.

            But that’s a blog for another day. I wanted to tell you about the flashback.

            One Sunday in the Watsontown Baptist Church, I was belting out a Charles Wesley hymn, and sang these lines: 

“Bold I approach th’eternal throne
And claim the crown, through Christ, my own.”

            Suddenly, without leaving the pew, I was back in Oz. I saw Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion quaking as they approached a smoking and flashing image of the Great and Powerful Oz on his throne. The wizard was revealed to be a sham who couldn’t grant any of their requests.               

             I continued singing.

            Wesley probably had Hebrews 4:16 in mind when he wrote his hymn. “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (NKJV). I sure had it in mind as I sang it.

            Many believers—and I include myself on occasion—tiptoe nervously to God’s throne like Dorothy and her friends, but God’s Word urges us to approach boldly. Many believers—guilty again—doubt God’s desire or ability to help them, but the Apostle Paul insists God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20, NIV).

            In fiction, Dorothy experienced disappointment when she realized the wizard was a fraud. In real life, believers experience satisfaction when they approach the eternal throne and remember that God is their powerful, forgiving, loving father.