Ephesians 4:11 – 13 “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
I live near a military post. Everywhere I go, I see men and women in army fatigues, going to or from their jobs. I am personally friends with many members of the military, and they rank from the lowest private to the highest officer. Each of them has a job to do, and when they all work together and do their jobs, things run smoothly.
It is not the job of the sergeant or the major to win wars. Instead, it is their jobs to prepare the soldiers under them, in the best way possible, to do their jobs. When the higher ranking personnel do their jobs well, then those beneath them are prepared. When everyone is prepared, when everyone contributes his or her personal best, then and only then do we have a successful army.
In the same way, it is not the job of the clergy to single handedly carry out the work of ministry. Instead, it is the clergy’s job to train and prepare all Christians for the work of ministry. God has given each of us gifts to use for His glory, and we are to each contribute what we can, so that we will successfully meet our goal.
Our goal, as Christians, is to make sure that each and every person in this world knows that God loves them. We are to use our gifts, to the best of our abilities, to share His love with others. We all have unique abilities to share that love, and when we all do our parts, people will be drawn to our Father. But if we hoard our gifts, if we say, “It’s not my job. Let the preacher do it,” we will not meet our goal. People will live lonely, desperate lives, never knowing how much God loves them.
Friends, we will never be mature, we will never experience all the “fullness of Christ,” until we work together and use the gifts God has given us, as needed, for His glory. When we all stand prepared, ready to do whatever we can for the kingdom, we will accomplish much. Then, we will have true unity, as we work together as one body.
Dear Father, I don’t claim to have many impressive gifts. But what I am able to do, I offer freely. Please help me to recognize and take advantage of opportunities to use my unique abilities and talents to share Your love with others.
Amen
Sing it sister! Great point. I appreciate this reminder.
And thanks for your sweet comment today. That blessed me much!
GO JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks, Tiffany!
And Charis, my sweet daughter, I love your enthusiasm. 🙂 Go Jesus, indeed!
Before they finished school for Easter, The Peacemaker’s class did a mime in church of the prayer of St. Teresa of Avila set to music. It seems quite fitting to share it here:
Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
no hands but yours,
no feet but yours,
yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion
is to look out to the earth,
yours are the feet by which He is to go about doing good
and yours are the hands by which He is to bless us now.
I try to remember this, but sometimes it’s so hard!!
That is beautiful. Thank you, Jackie.
Some good stuff….thanks for sharing the link…:)
Thanks, Sarah! I hope you’ll visit often. 🙂