Living in the Spirit
July 31, 2015
Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:1-16
The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. –Ephesians 4:11-16
Our ultimate goal is to get working-together so well refined that together we measure up to the full stature of Christ—a tall order. Does that seem impossible? Are we open to the possibility that Christ is working beside us in our pursuits sharing the yoke? Or are we stuck in the slime of hopelessness that prevents our pulling our share part of the load?
My job for many years was to coordinate planning for a large multi-service state human service agency. We functioned within the parameters of goals and objectives and met quarterly to track our progress. At one of the planning sessions with the executive team, I was locked in determined dialogue with the head of the Division of Services for the Developmentally Disabled. He was an excellent administrator and truly had the best interest of the people he served in his heart but he was dedicated to having as a goal putting every persons in their service community into gainful employment. I knew that was totally impossible and kept insisting he ratchet it back a bit. After this discussion went on for a while, the head of the Division of Rehabilitative Services joined the conversation by quietly saying, “They use to say that about the blind.” He was blind and he was a nationally recognized leader in the field of Rehabilitative Services. We left the objective in its original form.
God does not call us to do the impossible. We have been equipped to move mountains when we couple the skills God breathed into us with the power of Christ beside us and the Spirit within us.
Prayer: Lord keep us ever mindful that we are never alone when working in your service toward your goal of attaining the full stature of Christ for the whole world. Weave us together and help us see a glimpse of your vision of glory as our goal. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.