I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace
Humility is the starting place. It was what allows Matthew to leave his worldly success and follow Jesus.
He said to him, "Follow me."
And he got up and followed him.
Humility is what allows any of us to prefer the way Jesus is going to the customs posts where we sit. Without humility we can't function well as a body. We try to control things for which we are not gifted but refuse to put ourselves out there in order to exercise the gifts we do have.
We need the Spirit to make this unity among the members of the body possible. We need his fruits in order to grow.
And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the Body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,
to the extent of the full stature of Christ.
The Spirit worked in Matthew. He helped him see beyond the customs post where he was comfortable and secure. He allowed him to step out in faith, following Jesus, even though he certainly risked looking like a fool. The Spirit too was necessary to make the community of disciples receptive to this one who was doubtlessly previously a sinner in their eyes. The Spirit allowed the disciples to accept him that he would truly be one of them.
The Spirit wants to work miraculously to bring more and more people, often unlikely companions, together into one body.
Their message goes out through all the earth.
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