Today, we look at a Day 3 text from this year’s summer curriculum, “Boundless: God Beyond Measure.”
Reading 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 knit 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) Reflection When my local youth athletic organization decided to start a volleyball league while I was in high school (since our school did not have a team), I was stoked to be one of the first names signing up to take part. I loved the sport and quickly found my place on the larger team. Later, when they decided to start up a tennis club in similar fashion, I quickly added the skills into my rotation and found a new joy on the court in my coach’s backyard. A few years later when my brother joined both leagues, he absolutely cleaned my clock. I mean, he could kick my butt across both courts! This was just the start of a growing trend in our house. I was proud when I got an A in my calculus class my senior year of high school; my brother aced it in his freshman year. I was relieved to attain the rank of Eagle Scout, narrowly getting my final paperwork in two days before the final deadline on my eighteenth birthday. I think my brother reached Eagle before he could drive. It seemed that at every turn when I thought I had a gift or a skill, even some sort of accomplishment, my brother showed me up with deft skill. And I’ll admit (confess?) to you all these years later that it made me so jealous. I was envious of his capacity to excel at all these things to which I had already set myself! I genuinely coveted the gifts that he had. In the end, that envy really drove a wedge in my capacity to be in good relationship with my brother for years. It wasn’t until we had some time and space for differentiation in college that we finally discerned each of our own unique sets of gifts and skills. Ultimately, I became a pastor, he is now a captain in the Space Force; to say we landed in different places would be putting it lightly! But now, recognizing our own unique places and callings, we are able to support one another with the same zeal with which we competed while growing up. Now, after finally recognizing the ways in which we have been equipped, we are able to build one another up in love (v. 16). Know that in similar fashion, you too have been uniquely equipped for the mutual support of this Body of Christ. You may need some distance to step away from the constant competitive cross-comparison that our world encourages, but the truth is you have been equipped and called into this life of faith. May you not be blown about, but may you find your sure footing, uniquely held in your person, and may you leverage it for the joining and knitting of this life together! ~ Justin Lingenfelter Prayer Good and gracious God, you equip your saints with unique and individual gifts for the sake of your ministry of life in this world. Lead us away from the paralyzing lines of competitive comparison to instead use our gifts to build one another up in your name. This we pray through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. _________________________________________________________________________ Our devotions are based on this Sunday’s Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). The RCL is a three-year cycle of readings telling the story of our Christian faith and corresponding to the season church calendar. On any given Sunday, we are hearing and praying and examining the same Scripture with millions of Christians around the world. In our current Year C, the Old Testament readings progress through the Prophets and have the theme of the day that it is connected to the Gospel reading. The Psalm, a song the congregation sings in response to the Old Testament reading, most often corresponds to the theme of the Hebrew Lessons and/or that of the Gospel Lesson. The lesson from the Epistles or from Acts typifies the church’s focus on the meaning of Christ for today. The Gospel lesson is connected to the season of the Church Year. This year, our gospel readings are from Luke, who writes that Jesus is the universal Savior and the perfect Son of Man. In the current season of Lent, we focus on baptismal identity and the consequent amendment of life.
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