When we walk in God’s plan for our life…

Paul’s message to the Ephesians has come to my mind several times over the weekend. This isn’t a new concept but a timely one. Over and over again in my quiet times with God, connecting with Him over a cup of my morning coffee, God has brought the topic back around to His plan. He has taught me so much about how to trust Him and rest in Him, letting go of everything and holding tightly to Him.

In the same way that God has a plan for each of us individually, God has a plan for the Church – a plan for us as the body of Christ. That is what stood out to me this morning as I read through Ephesians.

God has brought all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself (Eph.1:22-23).

I love these verses! We, as His body, are the expression of Christ to the world around us. He uses us to reflect Himself to the lost and dying world – this is His plan.

And let’s not miss a key truth here – we are under the authority of Christ, He is the head of the body and therefore He is in charge. It’s not about me, it’s about Him. It’s not about who I am but about whom I am reflecting. It’s not about my ambition but about my submission.

As a reflection of Him, Christ brings us together in unity with each other. He breaks down the walls that separate us and helps us to see past our differences and love each other thoroughly! His plan for us as the body of Christ is to live at peace with one another. There are NO exceptions!

For Christ Himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.

He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from Him, and peace to the Jews who were near. Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us (Eph. 2:14-18).

It’s not okay for me to have an attitude toward my sister in Christ, she comes to the Father through the same Holy Spirit I do. Because of what Christ has done for both of us, it’s not okay for me to reject my brother in Christ. Jesus died so that the wall of hostility separating us could be broken, so why do we so often try to build the wall back up? So that Christ died for nothing?!!

Together, we are His house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus Himself. We are carefully joined together in Him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through Him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by His Spirit (Eph. 2:20-22).

Together the body of believers is the dwelling where God lives by His Spirit. He expresses Himself fully through the Church as we reflect Him to the unsaved. As we draw hear to Him and as we worship Him together with one voice and united hearts, we get to know Him. As we stay connected to the vine, we work in harmony with the branches around us to produce more fruit than we could ever produce on our own. THIS is God’s plan.