Today's Scripture: Ephesians 4:7-16
"From whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."
In "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," Washington Irving tells the tale of a mythical figure, a Hessian trooper was killed in battle during the Revolutionary War. As the tale goes, the trooper was decapitated by a cannonball, and his remains, without the head, were carried away for burial. Around Halloween each year, his ghost rises to go about looking for his lost head, often being depicted with a jack-o-lantern as a temporary replacement.
While the legend of the Headless Horseman is only a story, it does highlight one absolutely critical aspect of the body … without its head, the body is nothing. Lifeless.
This week, we have been exploring the idea of Connecting in Community, with the idea being that sometimes, we need to reset, start over, or begin again, in the Church which is the body of Christ.
So, if the Church is the body, who then is its head? Jesus, of course.
In today's passage, Paul reminds us that the body of Christ is not some lifeless, headless thing. Rather, it is a living entity with a risen Jesus as its head that, as it grows, is being built. And, Jesus gives to some unique gifts to facilitate the work of doing the building.
But the work is not a passive work that the body has happen to it. Paul also tells us that the Church, the body, is to grow in Christ, the one who causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself.
Yes, it’s quite the infinite loop, but it also shows us where we can reset.
Instead of thinking of church as a place or building we go to get something, let's invest ourselves into the community of church to join in the growth and maturing of the body, the Church. The risen Jesus gives those unique gifts to some for the equipping of the saints.
So let's be equipped, but be equipped for use. Let's give back to the one who gave himself for us.
Think about it …
Considering yesterday's question of how God has prepared you to be a member of his body, are you using that preparation for the building up of the body?
If not, in what way can you contribute to its growth in your church?
