Jan 11th
Ephesians 4:1-12
4 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. 2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 4 For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.
5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 one God and Father of all,
who is over all, in all, and living through all.
7 However, he has given each one of us a special gift[a] through the generosity of Christ. 8 That is why the Scriptures say,
“When he ascended to the heights,
he led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to his people.”[b]
9 Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.[c] 10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.
11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ.
I wonder how the Jews must have treated Paul.
Paul’s entire mission was to preach to the Gentiles. His entire mission was to tell those who were excluded from the common and respected culture/religion/social class, whatever you may want to call it.
Think about it.
How did a nation that was accustomed to beheading and crucifying people treat a man who they were against? There are so many layers to this idea.
Whether you’re fighting racism, or whether you are inclusive to lgbtq community or if you disagree with a corrupt government, you have felt this pain. People talk about you, they judge you, look down on you, fire you, and in the worst cases they spit on you or kill you. More recently I have become more and more inclusive in my theology, as well as more outspoken about Anti-Racism and politics, and it’s affected the way people treat me.
I was talking today to some campus ministers and told them how I am becoming more progressive in my theology and you should have seen the looks I got. I laugh about it now. But it definitely was a new feeling. One person straight up told me I made him feel uncomfortable when I used the word “progressive.” Just for using the word.
I’ve been on the other side to be honest. I’m evolving. And I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I hope you evolve.
I want to be like Jesus, like Paul, like MLK, like all those who included the excluded. Those who fought for the least of these. Those leaders who loved everyone, welcomed everyone, were non-violent, and who fought for human rights.
Perhaps Paul’s biggest struggle was his disdain for his own kind. This is what I believe can be the biggest struggle in our world.
Sometimes we fall into the sin of hating our own brothers and sisters in the faith.
That was never the intention. Failing to love those in the faith who you disagree with is the same failure of those who exclude in their theology.
I have a lot more to say, but this was vulnerable enough. For the record I’m not getting these ideas from just anywhere. Read today’s scripture, study it, and you will see where I get these ideas from.