⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each.  ⁹ For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.

¹⁰ According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:7-11)

Dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior. Amen.

Oftentimes we disregard our own role in God’s activity in the world. We either underestimate the calls we have received or overestimate our own authority in fulfilling those calls. Whether we neglect that call or strip the glory away from God, we do a disservice to God, neighbor, and ourselves.

We are both builders and the building. We are God’s servants called to labor upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. We are called to labor together under God’s tutelage. God is the one with ultimate sovereignty. We pray regularly to God, ‘Thy will be done’. That prayer asserts that God is in control.

The challenge to follow Christ and use our God-given gifts is not a new one. Neither is the challenge to integrate those individual gifts into the church for the blessing of the world around us. God calls and challenges us to be blessings in the world. The Apostles struggled. As testified by Paul’s letters, not only did the Corinthians struggled with those challenges, so did the churches in Ephesus, Galatia, and Rome. The Church Fathers struggled. The Reformers struggled. The church has struggled with those challenges unceasingly.

The Holy Spirit has guided and strengthened the church with those challenges unceasingly as well. We meet those challenges because the Spirit is with and in us. Christ does not call us to any impossible endeavors. We face all the challenges that come with being the Body of Christ in a broken world because the One who calls us is faithful. As the angel reminded Mary, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” God caused a virgin to conceive. God caused the dead to rise. God will lead the church.

The grace and peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

In Christ,

Pastor Carla