February 1, 2009: That Sounds Smart – Michael Hidalgo

There is more to life than simply knowing a lot of things. For the first time in this letter we come across the words, “so that.” This is commonly referred to as the “hina” clause in Greek. Typically in the Greek world one would use this to explain why they were doing something. So for Paul, he is asking God to give the people wisdom and knowledge for a very specific reason – so that they may be able to live a life that is pleasing to God. We are never to take things and have them all for ourselves – but we are to live our lives in light of the “so that.” We are to love and encourage one another so that we can better love and serve our world. Praying for one another is never for our own sake but for the sake of others.