The Calling To Which You Have Been Called

I therefore, the prisoner of 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.

Ephesians 4:1-16

Did you realize fewer people attend church on Sunday than claim to follow Christ. Can you imagine life without church? Church has filled so many needs that there just is no other way. It is about a relationship with our God, our Savior Jesus Christ, and the Spirit within each of us.

Christianity is not a purely intellectual, internal faith. It can be lived only in community. At a deep level, the church contains something we desperately need. Think about the time you have abandoned church. You are the one who suffers. Your faith fades, and the crusty shell of lovelessness will grow over you. You grow colder rather than hotter.

And so, your journeys away from church

will always circle back to the church.

Our Daily Bread – July 6, 2008