The Good Body

Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13

1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it…11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

"I remember hearing about an old comic strip back in the days of St. Ed's. Two guys are talking to each other, and one of them says he has a question for God. He wants to ask God why he allows all of this poverty and war and suffering to exist in the world. And his friend says, 'Well, why don't you ask?' The fellow shakes his head and says he is scared. When his friend asks why, he mutters, 'I'm scared God will ask me the same question.' Over and over, when I ask God why all of these injustices are allowed to exist in the world, I can feel the spirit whisper to me, 'You tell me why we allow this to happen. You are my body, my hands, my feet."

From "The Irresistible Revolution" by Shane Claiborne

 

January is "National Poverty in America Awareness Month," and as part of that larger movement, a coalition of local churches, non-profit organizations and social service providers are sponsoring "Hood County Poverty Sunday" on Sunday, January 11, 2009. To commemorate Poverty Awareness Month, each day during the month of January, Life on The Way will present a devotional thought relating to the issue of poverty and the Bible.