August 2nd Reflection

Ephesians 4:1-16 (NRSV)
​Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.
But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it is said,
"When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;
he gave gifts to his people."
(When it says, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) 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.

Reflection
Yes, we are One. We are One together and we are One apart. For in our Oneness we are in Christ.

We are not One like some thing is one. We are not boring or even all the same.

We are One in our unity in Christ but so different one from another.

This is the beauty of the Church of God. There is variety and application of all sorts of blessings through our One Lord.

Christ draws us together in the unity of the cross and in the fulfillment of the resurrection. All of our unique skills, abilities, callings and blessings, work together for One. That's with a capital O for the Oneness of God.

Even as we peer into the mystery of the trinity... God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit all different yet all One; we can see the workings of God in the life of the Church in this world that is leading to that glorious Church eternal.

What a glorious day for each and for all when the baptized realize the beauty of each special life, each child of God that will be part of the ONE.

Thanks be to God!

Music

Prayer
Lord, lead us in faith and works to the ONE you would have each of us be in you... today... tomorrow... and forever. --- Amen