Happy New Year!
What are you planning for the year ahead? There's a lot we can think about for our own plans and what we want from the year ahead. But what does God want for us? What does God have planned?
in Ephesians 4 Paul writes about what God wants for us in order to build unity as His family:
Ephesians 4:7-13
7But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8This is why it says:“When he ascended on high,he took many captivesand gave gifts to his people.”9(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until 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.
The God of all the universe has gifted us with all we need to build up the body of Christ. He appointed apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers and evangelists to equip people in his church for works of service. And why? - to build up the body
- to reach unity together.
- to become mature in our faith
- to reach fullness in Christ
In other words - to fulfil all God's purposes - to find the completeness that God desires for us in our faith. And it all begins by training and being equipped for works of service.
Then...
Ephesians 4:14-16
14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
Then we will grow up! Then we will not be blown around like children with every new thing that comes along. Then we will grow together.
God doesn't want us to stay where we are in our faith. He wants us to grow and he wants his church to grow. At the end of this year, not only do we want to look back on our own faith and see how we've grown... we also want to look at our whole church and see how we have all grown together.
How will you be trained to serve this year?
How will you be helping others to be trained?
How will you hope to see our whole church family grow together this year?
Prayer
Lord God, thank you for equipping us to serve you in your church and in your world. Please help me this year to consider how I might be able to grow as a child of God, and how I can help my church family grow in their faith as well. Help me this week to consider which areas I may be able to serve and train in your church this year.
Amen.