Just People part 3
When we start to understand that we're all different parts of the same body, we can stop trying to be something we're not... and we can stop trying to make other people be something THEY'RE not. We can let people be who they are, and we can be who we are. And then, together, as we learn who we REALLY are--Jesus, God in the flesh, love in a body--we can stop acting like anything or anyone else. That's how Ephesians chapter 4 describees the five-fold ministry. For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifynig of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:12-13). There's a lot here but I want to hit on "the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." Because there was a man named Zacchaeus who was little of stature. And most of the time I've heard that preached as Zacchaeus being "a wee little man." But what if that's not what we're talking about? Because Jesus said in another place that you can't add to your height so why worry about it. What if "stature" means maturity? (And by the way, it's number 2244 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means maturity.) So this rich dude who was little of stature, who wanted to see Jesus but wasn't Spiritually mature, climbed up a tree. A sycamore tree. Which is a fig tree. Which represents the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Right? Because when Adam and Eve ate of that tree of death and then wanted to cover themselves, what was on hand but fig leaves? So Zacchaeus uses human effort to try to get high enough to see Jesus. He tries to make himself more mature. He tries to take the Kingdom by violence, if I can say it that way. And what happens? Jesus rebukes him, right? WRONG. Jesus CORRECTS him by showing Him a more excellent way. Jesus says, "...Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house" (Luke 19:5). Jesus says, "Get down from there. Because it's not about what YOU do, it's about what I do. And what I'M going to do is abide in you." See, we are complete IN HIM. Because He is complete IN US. Not because we can make ourselves look taller by making others look smaller. Not because of our knowledge of good and evil. Good and evil are on the same tree! And no matter how often we swing from branch to branch on the tree of death... that's all that can come from it. Death. Jesus didn't come to make "evil" people "good." He came to make dead people alive. By giving us an entirely different tree to eat from. The Tree of Life! From which comes the fruit of the Spirit, which is love. Jesus came to show us the Father, by showing us the Father's love. By giving us His Holy Spirit--the love receptor--so that we can receive and release His love. So that we can be loved, just as we are, and love others, just as they are. So we can stop trying to fit into some religious box, and stop trying to scare people to fit into that same box, and just live. Live Jesus' abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life by letting Him live it in us, and through us, and as us. We're all just people. But what that really means is that we're all just love. And when we know who we are--when we know that we ARE love--that's when we CAN love!