The Chain

These are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

Ephesians 4:11-13

WHAT A DIFFERENCE ten years can make! Especially in a family.

If you’re a parent, you can probably remember when it seemed that your kids squabbled nonstop. But what a difference after the kids start maturing! Then family times can become relaxing times of enjoying one another’s company. As they mature, children start to live up to a different standard—they start acting like adults. At various times, the Bible writers refer to quarreling believers as “little children.” Sometimes believers in churches have to mature, just as children do!

How do we reach that stage of maturity? So many times we go to church looking for what we can get out of it and expecting the church to be structured the way we want.

Instead, perhaps we should focus on how we can serve others through the distinct abilities God has given us. As we minister to others, we mature and grow personally. And as a result, God’s promise is that we affect the whole church in a positive way.

Just as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, our churches are only as strong as the weakest believer. Let’s use our gifts to build a church full of fruitful, effective, mature Christians.