The
wedding between Bella and Edward encapsulates so much love and history in their
relationship. It is a culmination and a beginning for this couple. Starting a
new life together as a couple requires a certain amount of maturity. The
apostle Paul talks about a mature love in Ephesians 4. In the first six verses,
he gives an introduction to our new life in Christ. We have new
responsibilities in this life, ones that are rooted in our common bonds. God
calls us, through the words of Paul, to keep going on our faith journey. When
we come to God, we are changed by His Spirit and transformed to be more like
Jesus. But, the journey doesn’t end at this point. We keep walking on our
journey toward God.
Notice
that we are commanded to walk with humility, discipline, tolerance and love.
This passage in Ephesians makes me think of Mother Teresa. She was a Catholic
nun who spent decades of her life serving the poor in India. She could have
ministered to wealthier people in nicer locations, but Mother Teresa helped the
outsiders and exiles of this world with great humility and love. Her life is a
current example to us. It’s not all about us. It’s about God and His character
in us. While we bring diverse gifts and experiences into the community of
Christ, we walk the same path in the same direction. We have the same authority
and existence in Christ. We are bonded in Christ. We are called to live in
unity with each other.
Unity
seems to come and go at Bella and Edward’s wedding. While Jacob comes in peace
to congratulate Bella, their interaction moves from a gift to a fight. Gifts,
in any form, can be a mixed bag, for you never know what you will get. In
Christ, we are gifted by God for service. In Ephesians 4:7-16, we read about a
list of potential gifts. The quotation
Paul uses within the text comes from Psalm 68:18. He is using an Old Testament
example to explain a New Testament truth. The God of the past still bestows
gifts to His children in the present. The gifts range in possibility, from
leadership to everyday service, but they all fit perfectly together in God’s
house. These gifts are used for serving others and maturing each other. What
are your gifts? Do you know them yet? Some gifts are fairly obvious, but others
can take time to develop as you mature in Christ.
For years, I was ashamed and even scared of my
gifts. I grew up in a male-dominated religious culture. It was an oppressive
environment for me, as my gifts were speaking and teaching. As a young
girl and daughter of a kindergarten teacher, I focused my teaching abilities on
young children. I really enjoyed teaching, but I didn’t enjoy the children. It
was at this point that I began to think something was wrong with me. I could
talk circles around the boys in my class when it came to Bible knowledge, but
any desire to use my gifts for my peers was met with emotional sledgehammers
upon my self-esteem. I felt a heavy burden to use my gifts for God, but my
gifts seem to be “boy” ones. And I didn’t know what to do with that.
Whether it
was school activities or even roles within my new career at a bank, the world
seemed ready to accept a talented young woman like me. Yet, I had to hold back
my talents at church. I had to die to a part of my soul each week at church,
and it felt very confusing to me. I felt alone and very different from my
peers. Other women seemed to be happy within their designated roles, but I just
felt confined by them. It felt like the church just wanted to stuff me into a
box and hide me someplace where no one could know the real me. Your gifts may
be very different than mine, but each of us is called to contribute to the
community of Christ with our gifts. God’s
desire is for us to be different in our gifting but share a commonality in our
message. That message is Christ, God’s greatest gift of love.