God Gives Us Others

Friday - March 11th

Scripture to Read Today: Ephesians 4:7-16

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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 4:13

Rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson teamed up a decade ago with the World Food Program to provide 1 billion meals to people in Africa. The rapper donates 10 cents from every sale of his energy drink called "Street King." So far, his donations have reached over $5 million, and the rapper continues to look for new ways to get meals to Africa's hungry people. While the pandemic slowed his efforts, 50 Cent continues to pursue his very lofty but worthy goal. He says that "nothing will stop me from reaching this goal, it is the most important purpose in my life."

What an admirable and gracious goal! Feeding people in Africa and other parts of the developing world is critical. Leveraging his influence and affluence to make such a practical difference says a lot about the rapper. I hope 50 Cent accomplishes his goal!

You may not own an energy sports drink brand or ever think about providing a billion meals for others, but you have probably set goals before. They may have been something as simple as a personal to-do list for a Saturday. Perhaps you have defined the mission or purpose of a company or a non-profit. Maybe the goals you have delineated and worked to achieve are somewhere between the Saturday list and a corporate mission statement. Goals help us achieve rather than spin our wheels with good intentions.

I love how the Apostle Paul speaks about the purpose of the gifted people God has given the church. They are there to help us achieve God's goal for us as followers of Christ. Read Paul's description of the reason why God has given apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (verse 11). "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 4:13). The gifted people God provides the church are meant to help us mature in Christ - to be more like Jesus.

Ultimately, the verses to follow verse 13 speak of how we all pour into and build up one another for the same purpose. God has given us these gifted people and all the other believers in our local church to help us grow, thrive, and mature in Christ. As we become more like Jesus, we live and love like Jesus more in our everyday lives.

Maybe you have professional, personal, physical goals in your life but have not thought about God's plan and purpose for you. God provides other believers and church leaders to help you mature in Jesus. Perhaps you need to establish or reestablish an overarching goal for your life spiritually. Make a fresh commitment to the Lord today to become more like Jesus! Align your goal for your life with God's goal for your life!

God surrounds us with others who invest in us spiritually so that we can mature and become like Jesus!