For the Church – May 14, 2021

And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Ephesians 1:22,23

For the Church

When bosses go away for a while, you assume that they are relaxing somewhere on a sandy beach, or at least doing whatever it is you think bosses do when they go on vacation. Are they thinking about you, the workers? You doubt it.

What is Jesus doing right now? He’s not appearing to people the way he did for those forty days after he rose from the dead. Instead, he ascended into heaven, and the Bible says that he is getting a place ready for his followers there. What a nice thing for the boss to be doing!

But that’s not all he’s doing. In case you ever doubted that someone who sacrificed himself on a cross could actually be the boss, the Bible says that God the Father declared him still to be in charge of everything for the sake of the church.

This shouldn’t surprise us. The church has important work to do, speaking the Word of God, and Jesus is interested in that work. But you might not realize who the church is. When you believe in Jesus, you are the church. And Jesus is interested in everything you do.

In fact, he is arranging things just for you. He is in charge of everything so he can make sure you are okay. He is using what you do to make sure that other people are okay. Because of Jesus’ great mercy, he is forgiving and loving you, inspiring you to forgive and love other people.

The boss will be back soon. In the meantime, he is helping you keep up the good work.

Prayer:
Now to him who is able, according to the power that is at work within us, to do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.