Dogwood Digest

When my children were little, every trip out was a major event. Preparation usually began the night before as I loaded diapers, wipes, changes of clothing, and other assorted necessities into the diaper bag. The morning of the trip, formula in bottles and snack foods were added. I wanted to be prepared for any contingency. Bringing four toddlers out into the world was a scary undertaking.

I am still a little obsessive about packing for a trip after all these years. When I leave for a retreat, I bring my PowerPoint presentations loaded onto the hard drive of my laptop. But just in case something happens to that, I bring a backup on a thumb drive as well. I always pack more clothes than I could ever wear. I try to think ahead to any contingency. The Boy Scouts and I think alike: always be prepared.

Abraham Lincoln once said: "If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first hour sharpening the ax."

Most of us would agree with Honest Abe. No one would think of going into an exam without studying, writing a check without depositing money, or taking a long trip without filling the gas tank. Success depends on preparation.

And so God has prepared those He has called to serve. "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ." (Ephesians 4:11-12) God equips His people to serve. The original Greek word, translated here as equipping, has slightly differing contexts in how it is used in the New Testament.

Each nuance of meaning has its part in helping us to understand exactly what God has done for us, His people, in equipping us for service. The first and most frequent use infers preparation for a task. For example, a pupil will be like his teacher once he is equipped (translated fully trained, Luke 6:40). God has granted us spiritual gifts that give us a specific function within the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit indwells us to enable us in our service. We have everything we need to carry out what God has called us to do.

The word can also be used to describe a process of mending or making whole what was previously lacking. The disciples were equipping (translated mending) their nets before fishing (Matthew 4:21). Before we could ever be ready to serve others, our own brokenness within had to be addressed. God healed us from our sinful condition and made us whole. Paul uses this same nuance of meaning when he urges the Galatians to equip (translated restore) anyone caught in sin in a spirit of gentleness (Galatians 6:1).

Hebrews 11:3 tells us the worlds were equipped (translated prepared) by the word of God. The nuance here is that the worlds were prepared for a purpose, outfitted for how they would be used to accomplish God's intentions. We, as well, were created to do God's will. Ephesians 2:10 assures us of this: "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."

The Holy Spirit has been given to us to guide, teach, give discernment, and be our power source. We have been further equipped with gifts and talents to be used to build each other up. He has taken our broken lives and healed us from our own helplessness and despair. We have everything we need to live lives of service to the King. All supplied by the grace and mercy of God.

In light of the fact God has done this in us and for us, we need to pray and look for opportunities to be of service. We are called to demonstrate the love of Christ to those living in darkness. Often the opportunities come along spontaneously. Other times we must be creative in our quest to be used by God.

I did a retreat last fall for a church that is located on the Baltimore city line. The pastor there has a real burden for the city of Baltimore. He often goes into the city, carrying cleaning equipment, and visits the local dark and dingy bars. Going around to each of the customers, he introduces himself as the pastor of his church. He tells them all, "I'm just here to show the love of God in a practical way." Then he goes in and scrubs down the bathrooms. The people who come to this church in response to his actions are needy people. They know they are unworthy to be accepted by God. But they come because of the vocal and visual love they see in this man. And people are getting saved.

We are equipped. We are prepared. Everything has been done to make us able to carry out the mission of being light to a world in darkness. It is time to get moving and use what God has given us. It is just too good to waste.