August 2025 “I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort 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 of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:1-6 (NRSVUE)
There is much to unpack in the verse above from Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus. The main thing is that Paul is calling them (and us) to become one body in Christ. Paul lists some of his “fruits of the Spirit” from Galatians chapter five as behaviors we must possess to become one body. We need humility, gentleness, patience, and to bear with one another in love. Paul tells us we need to make “every effort” to maintain this unity and bond of peace. He did not say take a little bit of effort, or just some effort, or just effort on Sunday mornings. Paul means every effort! Many times, the effort that is required is compromise. There is an inside joke that ministers have with each other, and it is something like this, “Compromise, that way nobody is happy.” This joke came about after the pandemic when many churches had to combine their traditional service with the contemporary service to stay a church. Before the pandemic, I was a children’s pastor and would give sermons and have kids church at each of the services. I enjoy both the old-time hymns, and the new stuff on Christian radio, so I think I was the only person who enjoyed the combined service. Compromise is hard, but we can do it with the help of the Holy Spirit that lives in us. We can maintain the unity of Spirit in the bond of peace with help from the Lord and help to usher in His kingdom here at Cornerstone and the world!
May God bless you and keep you! Pastor Dennis