February 12, 2024

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ. From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” (Ephesians 4.14-16)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

While it may seem redundant hearing in verses 14-16 something very similar to what was said in verses 11-13, there are subtle differences and admonitions which deserve our attention in reflection. Our goal, as we heard previously, is to grow up into maturity attaining to the full measure of Christ. Why of Christ? As the incarnation of God’s Word and His presence on earth, Jesus becomes the benchmark example for every believer. Not that you nor I could ever fully attain that measure but it is our goal and objective to be, as the faith community in Antioch were addressed, “little Christs.” As Christians, believers in Jesus as the Christ, we are blessed with the truth of who we were intended to be. To live righteously before God was not just a “nice ideal” but a vital and true reality. The opportunity is afforded to us by grace in love as love is the very nature, character and essence of God Himself. There is no other who manifest such perfection and then share it in the expectation of it being received as a gift. There is also no measure by which we can manifest it for ourselves in word or in work except that we commit ourselves to be followers of Christ and Him alone.

Thus, maturity being our goal and objective, we are challenged to move away from being “infants.” Of course, Paul is not speaking of being literal infants any more than Jesus was asking Nicodemus to return to his mother’s womb in order to be born again. Paul is speaking of moral, ethical and spiritual immaturity and maturity. Having an immature, a “not fully developed,” sense of moral and ethics as well as an incomplete spiritual awareness and understanding of who we are and whose we are. As infants, our learning is based on our “sitz im leben,” our place in life. We are environmentally formed and shaped in our thinking by those to whom we relate (in some instances it is based sadly on who we do not relate to.) This experiential environment has no bounds for the infant apart from the basic necessities of life: food, water, shelter. Even a sense of spirituality is unknown as an infant has no means of experiencing a “higher being” other than those tasked with his or her care. But, those experiences do lay the groundwork for how the “totally Other” is defined and related to. The description of “tossed on the waves and being blown by every wind of doctrine” is not speaking to babies or infant care. Paul is addressing those who are “new to the faith” of Jesus as the Christ. For both Jew and Gentile, the consideration of Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of God and the Son of Man requires transformative thinking. For the Jew, it is referencing the Law and the Prophets in which the Word of God is revealed as to the birth of Jesus, His ministry and His crucifixion and resurrection. How it relates to the whole nation of Israel as Messiah becomes transformed by the fulfillment of those prophecies in light of the reality of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. For the Gentile, the transferal of old ways (heathenism and the worship of other gods) for new ways (the way of Christ and the worship of God- Yahweh Elohim) was equally challenging because of the environment in which they were raised. But, those promises had continually proven unsatisfying whereas for the Jews the promises lingered in a state of “not yet fulfilled.”

But, for today’s reflection, I simply ask to you consider another angle by which we can view the connection between infancy and the “wind, waves and wind” of doctrine and scheming. I would ask you to think back to the story of Moses. In fear of his life being lost, his mother placed him in a reed “boat” and floated him in the direction of Pharaoh’s wife Nefertiti. In an act mercy, she took the infant into her care and raised him as her own. His instruction in the ways of Egypt were ingrained but His spirit still was moved by the hand of God. He did not float on the waters and happen to land near Nefertiti. He was carefully guided and positioned where there was only one real opportunity. The focus was on the welfare of the child by a mother’s love. So, too, as we move from one “way of thinking” to another must we keep our focus on what is fundamentally true for all people: God is the author, creator and sustainer of all life! There is no other. Do not set sail without a rudder. Do not float your boat with an anchor. Do not thrust yourself into the deep without a sense of direction and purpose. This is what Paul is referring to. Just as it was with Joseph four hundred years earlier as he confronted the brothers who cast him into the sea of slavery, so it was for Moses. He had an anchor, a rudder and a sense of purpose. It may have been captured in the simple swaddling cloth of Israel but it was at his mother’s breast her nursed and was weaned. Do not think for a moment that Moses’ mother did not sing, pray, speak and nurture him in the faith of God and his forefathers.

Mighty ones of God, we are urged to pursue God’s promise in this manner as well. We are not secure in just floating along through life and a hope that we will just happen to end up where we should be. Nor should we consider that wherever we end up is where we are supposed to be when we had not idea of where in the first place. We must trust in God and in Him find our being, our belonging and our becoming.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit spoke us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit so that others may be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind that we would know that we are Your people and that You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.