Journal Entry ~ 05/24/18

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, - Ephesians 4:11-13

Interestingly, the word equip translates not as 'to teach or prepare' as I thought it might, but rather it translates as 'to fix what is broken'. So, for me, this changes the meaning slightly, and helps me to understand the bigger picture a little better.  

We all know Christ has given us these spiritual gifts, and we know these gifts all vary from one person to the next. This is where the beauty in diversity can be found in our church, but it is also foundational. Our diversity is where the strength in our church can be found as well. We are all needed - each of us with our different gifts - to build up the church. 

Even in our small group, the diversity is evident and such a blessing.  I know my spiritual gift included more leadership and teaching than it does compassion and mercy, and I am so thankful that there are people in our group who were given a heaping amount of compassion and mercy to fill in the gap. He gifted us differently so that we might do just that in the church - full in the gap with our gift. 

It's not possible to be everything all the time - none of us are perfect in our spiritual gifts. While many of us are growing in the gifts we have been given, we are far from where God calls us to be. The reality is we're broken and in need of fixing - that's where the equipping comes in. Each one of us is personally gifted by Christ with varied gifts, and yet not so perfectly that we are not in need of fixing by pastors and teachers. We are vitally needed by the church to use our gifts, but the church is vitally needed by us for equipping. God's perfect design. 


Press on ~ you are loved 💗

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