Figuring out Fullness

In an effort to continue to figure out what it means to live a full life, this morning I went to Ephesians 4:11-13 but I backed up and found verse 7 to be helpful. Christ has given bits of grace to each believer. The whole measure of fullness is when each part does its work, a united body. Like nanobots or ants, lots of little bitties doing their little job until the whole group can complete a big job. I can’t live full unless I am fully united with other believers in the body of Christ. That is why a little encouragement goes a long way. When we think we can do it ourselves, we are being immature.

I can’t attain the fullness of Christ apart from the body of Christ, it is impossible. Why? I can’t live fully if I am not united with the church, building it up with the little gift God has given me.

I knew there was a deep truth in those verses. In Nevada, independence is a big thing, because we are still the Wild West. Feminism has taught all of us American women to be independent, and proud of it. What if my independence is a tool our enemy uses to divide the church so we are not united, so we don’t build each other up, so we do not mature, so we do not attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ? You can be a lone Christian (maybe), but you won’t be a full Christian or a mature one if you are not united with the church.

Like in these photos, this bride could not button her own buttons to get her dress on. One would think it a little job to be a buttoner, but how vaulable is that job to this bride? And of course this bride could have figured out how to put her own shoes on, but doesn’t it make you sit and Awww when you see her Matron of Honor helping her with them? Building others up so we can all be united and mature can be both a small job and a big one at the same time.