Every Once In A While...

Good Morning!

Well, I am kind of mad at myself. After I posted Friday, I realized that I had complained without really addressing the issue and attempting to come up with a solution. Anybody can complain … but how does one make that complaint a positive rather than a negative. And, of course, after I posted “something” kept bugging me until I spent a few minutes thinking through my complaint and its impact. (That “something” I believe to be God the Holy Spirit speaking to my reborn spirit, guiding me into ALL truth.)

So, here’s my thoughts on addressing the issue. Let’s begin with a base Bible passage:

Ephesians 4:11-16 (English Standard Version)
11And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[a] and teachers,[b] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,[c] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 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.

Footnotes:
a. Ephesians 4:11 Or pastors
b. Ephesians 4:11 Or the shepherd-teachers
c. Ephesians 4:13 Greek to a full-grown man

Now, if this passage sounds familiar, you will recall it as being a passage just a few days ago. I don’t know why God has led me back here … except He wants me to spend a few more minutes thinking through what Paul is saying to both the church at Ephesus and to the “church” today.

God has endowed all believers with supernatural gifts provided by the Holy Spirit. Some of these gifts are “silent” gifts in that it can go unnoticed if a person is exercising one of these gifts. For example, a person with the gift of mercy can be visiting people in the home or the hospital and no one ever recognize he or she is doing so. Or, a person exercising the gift of helps can be helping a widow or a shut in with some home repair task and no one ever know he or she was there. All of the “silent” gifts are equally as important as the “visible” gifts that Paul enumerates in verse 11. But the visible gifts have the responsibility to instruct the church which is the theme that follows in verses 12 through 16.

Now I believe every person who believes in Jesus Christ … and thus is indwelt with the Holy Spirit … has access to all the twenty or so gifts of the Spirit. Paul points out the other gifts in his letters to the church at Rome (Romans 12) and at Corinth (1st Corinthians 12). Every believer has access but each believer has one or more gifts prominent in his or her life. And those who have the visible gifts prominent take on the responsibility of edifying (building up) the body (Christian brothers and sisters).

One of the prominent gifts in Mr. Jim’s life is that of teaching. Note that this is a visible gift – which means I am charged with the obligation (and the joy) of building up my fellow believers. Sooooo… when I whine about something and don’t offer a solution … I am tearing down, not building up. In short, I am not doing my job.

Instead of whining about how no one greeted me, I should apologize for not reaching out to them. And I should spend a few minutes with the teacher and the preacher to talk about how we can make the climate more conducive for encouraging people to feel welcomed and begin to become friends.

And I should apologize to you for being a whiner. I mean to encourage you … not depress you. And so, for this morning and today, let us praise God for all the great things He teaches us each day.

Agape’

Mr. Jim