Knowing Love

In order to accomplish anything, we need to work together as one.

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 peoples 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 4:11-16

Doing God's work here on earth is tough.  It is more than one person can do, even to help one person or one family.

Paul tells us we are all given different gifts and working together we can do the work of Christ, but there is a catch.  We need to be mature in our faith.

For me that means believing beyond all reason and beyond all evidence to the contrary.

It is so easy to go back to the old ways when attempts to do something radical and new fail, but when it comes to reaching out to help others, it helps to know that they may slip as well.

People who need help may have a history of taking advantage of those who have compassion and desire to help.  It is how they survive.  So, when they take advantage of us, we need to remind ourselves that this is what they have learned.  They do not know love.

We need each other to prop us up when we fail, and that goes for the helpers as well as the helped.

Even one who is converted from being abandoned to being loved can slip back into despair, so it takes work to keep the faith alive.

Every day, we go out and stoke the fires of faith.  It is the source of hope for so many, and it needs to be done, especially now as the nights get colder and the fears grow.

So, in maturity, we must rise to the stature of Christ and be one body working together to help those who are lost and abandoned.

We will not always succeed, but we will make a difference.

More to come...