Saints Tossed To and Fro

“But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, ‘When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.’ (Now this expression, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.) And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”  Ephesians 4:7-16

The Christian life is often referred to by the term walk or walking. In times past, believers would often meet one another with the greeting, “How goes the walk?” - meaning, of course, “Are your conversations, your conduct, your thoughts, and desires honoring to Christ? Are you walking well in your relationship to Him?”

Maybe in our day-to-day meetings and conversations, we would do well to verbally remind one another of the importance of “walking well.” Possibly we feel others would think us too bold if we ever inquired about the status of their spiritual well-being. We might be ostracized because of our “radical” Christian lifestyle. Don’t be fooled.

The body of Christ has been sprinkled with a liberal dose of exhorters by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. These dear individuals have the uncanny motivation to encourage and challenge others in their Christian walk. Wouldn’t it be nice to hear a concerned, friendly voice say, “How goes the walk, my friend?”

In light of who we are by the gift of God’s grace, let us walk in a manner worthy of our place.