So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his 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… 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. From 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.
Ephesians 4:11-13, 15-16
In the verses above, the Apostle Paul reminds us that we are all parts of the same Body. Christ has equipped us with the Holy Spirit, that we might serve others, and build one another up until we are united in our faith. Paul goes on to exhort us to speak truth in love so that each of us, as individual parts, will work together to help the Body to grow in love.
What a beautiful picture of the Church - striving to be like Jesus by working together in unity! When I committed my life to Christ as a child, I remember being so excited that following Jesus would make me just like Him. The Jesus I was learning about in Sunday School was simply amazing... why wouldn’t I want to be like Him? He healed the sick, told cool stories, calmed the stormy seas, walked on water, raised people from the dead, and so much more!
As I grew older, however, and learned more about this amazing Jesus, the goal of becoming like Him began to look impossible. Until the Holy Spirit reminded me that we were never meant to be His followers by our own strength. Jesus is with us always – He is Immanuel!
Starting next Monday, a team from All Saints will join our local mission partner, Little Lights to serve as camp counselors for a week of VBS. We'll be serving families of the Hilltop Terrace community in Southeast DC. Our prayer is – as Paul says – that being equipped by Christ for this service, we will also help build the Body of Christ, promote unity, and grow a little bit more like Jesus.
The amazing Jesus of my childhood is also a Servant King, compassionate, slow to anger, forgiving, and loving. Praise God that He has equipped us to be just like Him.
God bless you!
Shireen
