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Built Up in Love – The Formed Future · Still, Here

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: This is still here.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: A quiet moment to remember what is true.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to these words from the book of Ephesians, chapter 4, verses 15 and 16.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: But speaking truth in love,
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: we may grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ,
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: from whom all the body,
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: being fitted and knit together through that which every joint supplies,
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: According to the working in measure of each individual part,
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: makes the body increase to the building up of itself in love.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Pressure has a way of making life private.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: When things feel uncertain, we often pull inward.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: We try to figure it out alone.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: We carry worries alone.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: We decide we should be stronger than this, wiser than this, more capable than this.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: Before long, even spiritual maturity can sound like learning not to need anyone.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: That is not the picture Paul gives us.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: He gives us a body.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Christ is the head,
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: and the body grows as every part is fitted together
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: and supplies what it has been given.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Paul says the body builds itself up in love.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: That is very different from a collection of spiritual individuals trying
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: to become strong enough to survive whatever comes next.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: The future does not need isolated survivors.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: It needs people who are being built up in love.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: There are good reasons some of us have learned to protect ourselves.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the body of Christ has not felt safe.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: Church life may have disappointed us, exhausted us, or wounded us.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: People who should have helped us stand may have added weight instead.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Those experiences matter.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Love does not ask us to pretend harm did not happen.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Wisdom can include boundaries.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Trust may need time.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: Some relationships may never become what we hoped they would be.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: But being hurt by people does not mean we were created to become sealed-off selves.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: Christ still forms a people.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: He gives encouragement through people,
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: wisdom through people, correction through people, presence through people.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes another person sees the fear taking over before we do.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes someone else remembers the truth when our mind is tired.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the most spiritual sentence we can say is, I need help seeing this clearly.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: And there is another side to this.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: You have something to supply too.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you are not the person with the answer.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: You do not have to be.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: You can listen without fixing.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: You can speak one gentle word.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: You can pray.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: You can remind someone that they are not alone.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: You can help another person become a little steadier simply by being present.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: This is how the body grows.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Not everyone becoming impressive, but by each part offering what it has been given in love.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: Think of one person who helps you become steadier in Christ.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: They may never solve your problems.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: They may simply help you remember what is true.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Receive that as grace.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: Then think of one person you can strengthen today.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing dramatic is required.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: A message, a prayer, a few minutes of attention, a truthful word spoken gently.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Formation is not solitary.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: The world may keep telling us that strength means becoming more self-sufficient.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: Christ gives us another kind of strength.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: We are joined to Him and we are joined to one another.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: That does not make us weaker.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: It is part of how He grows us up.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Take a moment for this prayer of presence.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Lord Jesus, You are the head of the body.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: Keep me from believing I have to become strong alone.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Heal the places where I have learned to hide and give me wisdom where trust still needs care.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Help me receive the love, truth, Encouragement and wisdom you give through others.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: Show me what you have given me to offer in return.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: Build us up in love until love becomes the place from which we live.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: As you step back into the rhythm of your day, carry this prayer with you.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: I am not formed alone.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: I am built up in love.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: I am not formed alone.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: I am not formed alone.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, stay steady, stay open, stay present.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: You are still here.