When we were asked to co-write this Feed One Another we easily agreed that it would be a good exercise for us. As it turns out the agreement was easier to arrive at then the actual writing. You see, Cindy is geared toward a more engaging style of bible study where more-is-merrier. I tend to fly solo when it comes to studying and writing. The hide-in-a-cave method is my style. So the process of arriving here in print had some built-in challenges.
God has a great sense of humor, doesn’t He!
The point of this extended passage, from verse 1 to 16, is that we are all prisoners of Jesus TOGETHER. He came, he conquered, and he took us captive, not as a malicious marauder, but as a liberating Lord and savior. And to continue the work of the Father he designed us with variety. It is our differences, despite the fact that we are of one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God and Father, that make us most capable as we labor TOGETHER. They give us the best opportunity to “attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” TOGETHER.
This is true in our marriages, in our relationships with siblings, in our relationships with members of our small groups and ministry teams. We are far better together than we are separately.
Warren Wiersbe wrote “Gifts are not toys to play with. They are tools to build with. And if they are not used often enough they become weapons to fight with.”
Wouldn’t it be a great exercise for you and your spouse to identify your unique gifts and differences as assets and not liabilities? How great would it be if our church was built upon a principle of leveraging our variety? Any old group of people can memorize a creed and march blank-faced like cookie cutter zombies. But only a God-quickened collection of fully actualized Jesus prisoners can embrace our uniqueness TOGETHER and change the world for His glory.