11/20/2021
As Christian men and women of faith we have received various gifts and callings from God so that together, as one body, we can bring His perfect will to light in the world. We each are inclined to see our calling as the all in all, but in the whole it must be joined with the calling of all the others to produce the result that God has planned. For this to happen the glue, and the mortar must join them together; this everlasting adhesive being love. Are we ready to join our calling with all the others through the power that binds us… love?
“And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”
Colossians 3:14-15 ESV
Each morning I pray for three amazing pastors that the lord hand picked, and brought miraculously into my life. The Lord has laid a permanent, and lifelong, burden on my heart to pray for these men. They came to me individually over time, and each was added to my morning prayers over the past few years as they presented themselves righteous, and holy. However, it wasn’t until recently, when the third and final presented himself, that I realized who these men were, and why I had been asked to lift them up. I was given the first to pray for as I was flying home aboard an airplane, and he is in the likeness of Paul who goes into the world placing himself in danger as he evangelizes the lost, the second is a reflection of all true believers who I met while taking refuse to a local dump site, and he is building a village to serve the needy among us, in obedience to the second great commandment by loving our neighbors, and the third pastor is in the image of Peter who multiplies, and I met him as he taught and increased the church I was visiting; he remains the rock on whom Jesus is building His Church. It was then revealed to me that together with myself we are the embodiment of the first and greatest commandment, which is to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength… together we are that love.
“with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.”
Ephesians 4:2-4, 6-7 ESV
Each of us is bound to others in amazing and holy ways; I didn’t reveal the names of the pastors that I personally pray for because in fact that is less important today than to understand that we each have different saints, pastors, or others in our lives that we are, or will be, glued to as we answer our particular calling, and how we are meant to fit with those around us. Our callings are unique to us, but the glue, and mortar, to which we are fixed, and that binds us together is the same… it is God’s love through Jesus Christ..
“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38-39 ESV
As we walk through this day I ask that each of us look about ourselves, and identify those to whom we are attached. Listening not with our ears, but with our hearts, and spirits, as God reveals to us the truth behind His glue that is binding us together. When we see what God reveals it will fill us with His Spirit, and show us something about His will for us that we would not see otherwise. We might see pastors, but more than likely we will see mentors, housekeepers, those who wash feet, those who take out the garbage, fishermen, tax collectors, and others who might have seemed unlikely just moments ago. This is the power of the glue, and the breadth of His love, that fills our hearts and brings Him glory.
“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for loving us as you do, and binding us to you by your perfect love. You are love Father, and your love is blind to all but the spirit, and soul, within us, not seeing our position, prestige in the world, or our status among men, but only our hearts, and our love for you, and for one another. In as much as you, our God, have bound yourself to us, help us to bind ourselves to others, and show us your will for each of us, and how we are shaped to fit perfectly together; some of us being foundational, some rising up, and others seemingly insignificant small stones, but which serve as keystones. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who sees the least in the greatest, and the greatest in the least. Praised be your name for binding the first and the last by looking solely at our hearts, and fitting your will for us together humbly; in ways that bring you glory through our obedient answer to your call. Wash us clean Father in the blood of your Son Jesus, and let every soul find its peace in Him, and rest by your grace in your presence. Bind us together Lord for all eternity, and let us serve you forevermore being bound one to another in the perfection of your will, and strength of your love.
Rich Forbes