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我最年长的两个孙儿，胃口大到可以在快餐店吃一份成人套餐。然而当他们在麦当劳用餐时，情形便不同了。他们需要作一个决定：他们应该点一份成人份量的套餐，还是选择附送神秘玩具的“欢乐儿童餐”呢？神秘玩具的吸引力通常都会胜出。我爱看他们打开——应该说是撕开——包装袋来察看里面的神秘玩具。他们真的是迫不及待了。

使徒保罗在《以弗所书》中让我们看到，与上述情景相仿，他也邀请我们打开一个神秘礼包，一窥里面的东西，看看神分享给我们的是什么。有很多真理等待我们去寻求，这些任何人都可以获得的惊喜和奥秘，全都是指向神爱世人这个伟大叙事的新里程碑。神的计划包括每一个人，神的产业是为凡相信祂的人而预备。

在这卷书中，我们发现我们是蒙神接纳、拣选和呼召去与其他跟随耶稣的人一起并肩去侍奉的。我们明白得救本乎恩的意思，我们不再是神救赎计划的局外人。当我们更深入研读时，我们便会发现全然活在基督里的喜乐。

My two oldest grandsons are quite capable of eating an adult-size meal at a fast-food restaurant, but when they are at McDonalds, something changes. There is a choice they have to make: Should they order an adult meal or the smaller, kids' "Happy Meal," with its mystery toy inside? The draw of the mystery toy usually wins out. I love watching them open—or, I should say, tear into—the package to discover the mystery inside. Their patience is definitely stretched.

The apostle Paul is introducing us to something like that in Ephesians. We are invited to open a mystery package and peer inside to discover what God is sharing with us. There is more for us to know, and the wonder and mystery being offered to all people points to a new season in the great story of God's love for the world. God's plan includes everyone. God's inheritance is for all who believe.

In this letter we discover that we are adopted, chosen, and called to serve shoulder to shoulder with all other followers of Jesus. We discover what it means to be saved by grace, and we are no longer strangers to God's plan. As we reach in for more, we discover the joy of becoming fully alive in Christ.