Our Focus And Their's

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says:

“When he ascended on high,
    he took many captives
    and gave gifts to his people.”

           (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions?  He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,  to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up  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. (Ephesians 4:7-13)

          If, as yesterday’s passage taught, we are to be humble, gentle, patient, etc., it seems natural to question those who, like Paul, proclaim themselves to be an apostle. Indeed, it’s natural to question those who claim to have any status. This is especially true if they don’t happen to be heading in the direction we want to go. Remember Aaron and Miriam challenging Moses’ authority, and the Israelites testing the authority of Moses and Aaron?

          Today’s passage says, in effect, that God is sovereign. He assigns tasks as He sees fit. It brings me right back to yesterday’s arrogant question of “When’s my turn?” More properly, it brings me back to the question of what God’s will is for me right here, right now. And the answer is not “apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher.” The answer is “become the kind of person who is humble, gentle, patient, etc.”

          I want to matter. I want to be “somebody.” That’s the problem. “I.” When you are one of those chosen folks, it’s not about I. It’s about equipping people for works of service. It’s about building up the body of Christ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature…. Undoubtedly, apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers all struggle with I, and many fail. God doesn’t excuse people from doing His will because they’re going to fail. But it seems dishonest to me to fault God for not picking me when so much of me wants either to bask in the glory, or to hide and suck my thumb.

          But there’s another point that today’s passage makes clear. Jesus gave apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to His people in order to equip them and build up the body of Christ. Some pastors seem to have the gift of evangelism, or at least they think that evangelism is their job. They preach the same message of salvation to their flocks week after week in case someone who isn’t saved shows up, while the people who come week after week spiritually starve. Sometimes pastors complain (with reason) that their congregations expect them to do everything. That might be a sign of burn out. It might also be a sign that they aren’t equipping their members. If you have kids, you don’t give them nothing but milk from birth to age fifty.