During my second semester at Liberty,
a profound truth hit me like I had never seen it before. One morning, when I
was reading Ephesians 4, one of my favorite passages, I realized something
amazing and truly lifechanging. Ephesians 4:14-16 is where I received the
greatest revelation. 14 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. 15 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. 16 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.
I had always had a general
understanding of what Paul says in verse fourteen through sixteen, “Then we
will no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and blown here and
there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in
their deceptive scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow
to become in every aspect the mature body of Him whom who is the head, that is Christ. 16
“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”, but for some reason, when I read it that morning of
February 2nd 2013, I really got it.
Why would Paul exhort us not to be
like infants tossed in the waves by men’s evil scheming? Because, if we are
spiritually and/or emotionally immature
than every little hurtful word that people might speak to us, or even what we
might hear they said about us can be extremely hurtful and sometimes almost
fatally hurtful if we keep these hurtful
feelings inside for years and years allowing other hurtful/bitter thoughts and
feelings to pile on top of each other. Almost without fail, as we continue to
allow these hurtful and bitter feelings to build up and continue to cause pain,
people medicate this pain through becoming isolated individuals and medicating
the pain in their hearts (psyche’s) through drugs, alchohol, excessive physical
training, video or computer games, school work, and a host of other ways.
People stay locked inside and they do
not know how to relate to others on an emotional/relational level. This is why
Paul exhorts us here to “speak the truth in love” and in other places to “walk
in love”. Because, in these times of speaking the truth of our inner, real,
hidden, and unseen selves that (after we have spoken how we truly feel) that
the pain begins to be released and the path to healing is laid out before us.
This path to healing has been laid out before us by God the Father, who in
essence created us to be relational beings and sent His Son to redeem our
broken relationships.
When Paul says in verse sixteen,
“From Him the whole body joined and held together by every supporting ligament,
grows and builds itself up in love as each one does its work” , we see that
“every ligament is joined and held together as each does its part” paints the
picture of how we gain strength through fellowshipping and learning to be in
meaningful relationships with others.
What we can learn from this is that
the key to successful, meaningful relationships with others is to walk in love
towards them by speaking the truth with one another always in all situations.
Christ has given us the key to walk in fulfillment with a sense of being loved
by others. Simply apply God’s Word to your life and we have the ability to walk
securely, not “as infants tossed by the waves.”
I challenge you to strive to speak
the truth with the people you know. Examine yourself and think about the time
in your life when you did not speak the truth in love and you still have that
pain bottled up. If this is you, I challenge you to seek forgiveness through
prayer. Simply pray, “God I recognize I have “this place (or places)” in my
life where I feel pain towards ‘this person’ (insert their name or names). But,
I choose to forgive them.” I acknowledge that what he/she did was wrong and it
hurt, but I choose to forgive them, because Christ paid in full for this wrong
they did. He was willing to be beaten
beyond human recognition and die an excruciating and painful death for me and
“the person” so that we might be saved from sin and its consequences. I promise
you that if you speak the truth about how you truly feel to the person or
someone and you pray this and mean it, you will begin to experience change and
freedom in your life.
Maybe, as you read this, you realize
that you don’t understand “this love of God”. You realize you are lost without
Christ. Even if you prayed this prayer and meant it with all your heart, it
would accomplish nothing, because you have not first asked Christ to save you
from your sins and be Lord of your life. I challenge you to cry out to God for
salvation. He is your only hope. Just pray, “God I’m so sorry for my sins and
how I have ran from you.” I believe in you and what your Son Jesus Christ did
for me when He died on the cross for my sins.I ask you to forgive me of my
sins, and come into my heart and save me from my sins. I ask you to be Lord of
my life and cleanse me of my sins. I place my faith and trust in you now to be
Lord of my life. God has told us plainly in His Word how to be saved. In Romans
10:9-12, we read, “9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and
believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with
your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says,
“Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”[e] 12 For there is no
difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly
blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the
Lord will be saved.”
I promise you that if you will pray
this prayer and mean it with your whole heart, God will save you right where
you are. No matter what horrible things you have done, Christ’s gift is free to
all who will believe in His Son Jesus Christ. He will save you so that you can
truly walk in this freedom in your relationships and life. He will save you so
that you can spend an eternity in heaven with Him and not the place called
Hell. If you pray this, I challenge you to find a local Christian church
(Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Methodist, or another Bible believing and
preaching denomination. Get plugged in to this church and tell the pastor or a
deacon your amazing deciscion. Or just tell someone you know is a Christian and
ask them to pray for you as you begin this amazing new life in Christ. You can
even email me at qualityoflifewill374@ymaIL.com and tell me. Or, maybe you need
someone to talk to about all the hurt you feel in your life that you want
Christ to deliver you from.
