09/23/2026
A Sermon Series on Restoring Relationships (3)
“Restoring My Relationship with God”
Ephesians 2:1-6 / September 20, 2026
The World, the Air, and Heaven
Are you in a good relationship with God? “I” am here, and “you” are there, but where is “God”? If it is difficult enough to build a relationship with someone we can see, hear, and touch, how much more difficult is it to have a good relationship with God, whom we cannot see, hear, or touch? This is probably the most obvious reason why it is difficult for us to have a relationship with God. But there is an even deeper reason. It is our habit of living a superficial life. To understand what I mean by a superficial life, let us take a brief look at today’s Scripture passage.
Today’s passage comes from Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus. In this letter, Paul is trying to explain what the Christian life and Christian identity are all about. To do this, he uses three metaphorical concepts of space: “the world, the air, and heaven.” The “world” is the external environment and circumstances in which we are born, work, love, and live. It is the stage on which our lives unfold. This is where we live our everyday lives.
The “air” is the empty space between heaven and earth. We can breathe because there is air around us. The people of the ancient world, however, did not think of the air simply as empty space. They believed it was the realm inhabited by evil spirits. They believed that countless evil spirits filled the air, leaving no space untouched. Paul, living within this ancient worldview, speaks of Satan as the ruler of the air. This is what he means when he refers to “the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among those who are disobedient.”
“Heaven” is the vast, seemingly infinite space above the horizon, the wide blue expanse that stretches beyond the world and the air. In today’s passage, Paul describes heaven this way: God “made us alive together with Christ and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places.” According to Paul, Christians are people who are seated in heaven. As we can see from the passage, he is not talking about a physical place we go to after we die. He is speaking metaphorically about a kind of spiritual space.
If the “world” is the space of our everyday reality, and the “air” is the realm of evil spirits, then “heaven” is the place of God’s presence—the reality of every time and every place where we can experience the presence of God. Jacob, after spending the night outdoors at Bethel, had his first experience of heaven and said, “Surely this is the gate of heaven.” When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, he experienced the heavens being opened. It was an experience of heaven opening before him. Stephen, too, saw heaven opened at the moment of his martyrdom.
Paul laments that many people live in this world under the rule of “the ruler of the power of the air.” He teaches that Christians are called to live not in the world governed by the power of evil, but in heaven, where God reigns. Why? Because God, in Christ Jesus, has made us alive with Christ and has seated us with Christ in the heavenly places. Ultimately, a Christian is someone who lives in this world but does not live under the rule of evil; rather, a Christian lives under the reign of God.
Life Reality, Psychological Reality, and Spiritual Reality
If we describe these three spaces—the world, the air, and heaven—in more practical terms, we might call them “life reality, psychological reality, and spiritual reality.” Life reality is what Paul calls “the world.” It includes the various areas of our everyday lives—family, work, society, government, nature, and so on. We are constantly influenced by countless aspects of our life circumstances.
Psychological reality is what Paul metaphorically describes as “the air.” It is formed by the many experiences and wounds we encounter throughout our development and life journey. Once formed, this psychological reality can continue throughout our lives. It can also spread easily from one person to another, as people continually influence one another in negative ways, causing these patterns to expand. Psychological reality and life reality are closely connected and constantly influence one another. What happens in our everyday lives can affect our psychological reality, and the psychological reality that develops within us can, in turn, affect the way we live. In particular, these two realities often influence our lives in negative and destructive ways.
Spiritual reality is what Paul calls “heaven.” It is also an inner reality, but it is deeper and more fundamental than psychological reality. It is the reality in which God is present and reigns, a reality opened to us through Christ. We might call it the heaven within us. A Christian is someone who has awakened to spiritual reality—someone whose inner heaven has been opened. Sadly, there are not many Christians who are truly aware of this spiritual reality. Many people practice their faith by remaining within “the world,” living their faith primarily at the level of life reality. Others become trapped in “the air,” practicing their faith primarily at the level of psychological reality.
Those who live their faith only at the level of life reality—that is, at the level of “the world”—tend to have a practical relationship with God. They relate to God primarily on a need-based level, looking to God for help with their everyday lives. Their faith often remains simple and immature. Those who live their faith only at the level of psychological reality—that is, at the level of “the air”—tend to have a mystical or even magical relationship with God. People who carry deep wounds or trauma can easily fall into this pattern. They may become compulsively dependent on God or religious practices in an attempt to solve their inner problems.
The reason I have explained today’s passage at such length is to help us understand why we often fail to develop a deep relationship with God and become accustomed to living superficially. The reason we fail to develop a deep relationship with God and instead live on the surface is that we become absorbed in the spaces of “the world and the air”—that is, in life reality and psychological reality. Because of this, even though we practice our faith and attend church, we may not actually live in the space of “heaven.” In other words, we become disconnected from spiritual reality.
If we want to break free from the habits of superficial living and develop a truly deep relationship with God—in other words, if we want to stop merely going through the motions of life and begin living a full and meaningful life—we need to move from the space of “the world and the air” to the space of “heaven,” from life reality and psychological reality to spiritual reality. So how do we move from the world and the air into heaven? How do we let go of our habits of superficial living and restore our relationship with God?
Make Room for a Sacred Pause
We live at a very fast pace within our everyday lives. We are too busy, and we rarely have time to stop and rest. The speed of our psychological reality is often even faster than the speed of our everyday lives. We immediately react psychologically to almost everything that happens around us. As a result, we are constantly dealing with tension, stress, and anxiety. A life driven by the speed of our everyday and psychological realities keeps us from living in spiritual reality. So how can we stop being driven by life reality and psychological reality and begin living in spiritual reality?
We need to create a slow and quiet “sacred pause” in the middle of our fast and busy lives. We need to create a space where we can experience “heaven” in the midst of “the world”—a space where we can experience spiritual reality in the middle of life reality and psychological reality. We need to create a pause that allows us to stop merely skimming along the surface of life and enter into its deeper center. God’s grace and mercy seep into our souls through these kinds of sacred pauses. Without such pauses, we have little opportunity to become aware of and experience God’s grace and mercy.
To create a sacred pause in the rhythm of each day, we need to have a regular time of prayer. I think of God as our “authentic place in life and in our being.” Prayer is the vehicle that brings us back to that rightful and authentic place. Sometimes we certainly need to pray for our needs. But even more often, I encourage you to stop asking God for things and simply become aware of the One who is with you. Take time to be still and remain quietly in God’s presence. The kinds of prayer I often introduce—"Centering Prayer, Presence Prayer, and the Jesus Prayer”—are examples of this kind of prayer. Through these practices, I hope you will create a sacred pause in the rhythm of your everyday life.
What creates a sacred pause in the rhythm of our week is Sunday worship. Sunday worship is the time when we pause the relentless pace of a week spent running without stopping and return to our rightful and authentic place. The concept of keeping the Sabbath comes from the ancient Jewish tradition of the Old Testament. Today, it is often viewed as a legalistic tradition, so churches and pastors do not emphasize it as much. I tend to feel the same way. But I hope you will intentionally set aside one day each week—not because of a legalistic obligation, but voluntarily and out of love and joy —and make it a sacred pause in your life. To stop the busyness of life, return to God who is the source and origin of our lives, and simply turn our attention toward God is spiritually precious. It creates a sacred pause in the rhythm of our lives.
A faith community is another sacred pause in the journey of life. At its heart, the church is not a religious service institution. It is a faith community where we share the joys and sorrows of life on the foundation of Christ’s love. It is sad when the church becomes nothing more than a routine provider of religious services. Within a true faith community, we accept one another unconditionally, just as Jesus accepted us. We share our joys and sorrows, our frustrations and hopes, our failures and successes. There is no such thing as a perfect church that exists somewhere out there. A good church is something we create together. And the good faith community we build together can become a precious sacred pause along our journey through life.
Several years ago, I shared an experiment conducted by The Washington Post with the violinist Joshua Bell. In a busy Washington, D.C. subway station, Joshua Bell played Bach for forty-five minutes, but almost no one paid attention. People were simply too busy to stop and listen. Just two days earlier, Joshua Bell had performed in a famous concert hall in Boston before a packed audience who had come specifically to hear a master violinist. The audience responded with great emotion and gave him a long-standing ovation.
Why did the people passing through the Washington, D.C. subway station miss such beauty and such a moving experience? Because they were too busy. Because they had no room in their minds and hearts. Because there was no space for beauty to enter. I hope you will not miss the sacred pauses in your life because you are living too fast and too busy. I hope your faith and your relationship with God will not remain superficial.
You may have many important things to do, and you may be very busy. But the busier you become, the more important it is to create sacred pauses in your life. Create a sacred pause in your daily life through prayer. Create a sacred pause in your weekly life through worship. Create a sacred pause in your journey through life through a faith community. Then your relationship with God can be restored in a healthy and deeper way, and your life can become much more joyful and fulfilling than it is now. Amen!
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