Thursday, May 5 – Ephesians 4:11-13

And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for 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.

In any good superhero movie, there is always a mission. Think about it: how good would the movie be if the hero had no aim? It would be missing its purpose! The powers of the hero are great, but they aren’t the focus of the story: the powers are part of a grander story used for a greater purpose than the person might realize at first.

When Paul spoke to the church in Ephesus about the different gifts that were present among them, he gave a reminder of the purpose of the gifts. Paul wanted to make sure his audience wasn’t fixated on who had what gift, as if the gift deserved all the attention. He reminded them that God gives gifts for the purpose of building up the church, so we’ll be united in our faith and life with God.

Sometimes, as we identify where God has gifted us, we consider where we’ll contribute with the gifts we have, but we lose sight of the greater purpose—building up the church. Be encouraged as you navigate how God has gifted you and where He is placing you to serve, you are a part of His grand plan. God has chosen you, in your context, with your gifts to be used for His purpose. His purpose is to build up the body of Christ so that we may all attain unity in faith and knowledge of God, becoming more like Him.

• How does the greater purpose of the spiritual gifts encourage you?
• How does remembering this greater purpose of the gifts change how we use them?
• Pray and thank God for equipping you for a great purpose.