But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 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 4:7,11-16, NRSV)
We just ended Christmas and here we are on the 3rd day of Epiphany, and who is ready for some more gifts?
We think of gifts as shiny packages, boxes with ribbon, and shiny bags filled with wonderful objects of delight and merriment! Toys and games! Things we can play with and enjoy!
But how many of us got clothes?
Socks?
Ties?
underwear?
Long Johns? (I admit all I wanted for Christmas was some nice long underwear, as I moved from Texas to Wisconsin… But alas I did not get any…)
We want the things we want and when we don’t get them we feel like we have been let down…
But what gift do you have from God?
You see, you can not select the gift that the Holy Spirit gives to you. Some are apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers and all of these are for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.
We do not get to choose our place or job in the body, we are chosen for it.
We need to delightfully accept our gift, and know we are a beloved child of God. Named, claimed, called and sent to do His work for the betterment of the body!
aSacredRebel 