Ephesians 4:1-6, "Put on Gospel Glasses"

The second day of our trip was Saturday, March 31st. We woke up and Kay lead us in our morning devo before we had breakfast (FYI that's a great practice to get into, Bible before breakfast). She was teaching out of Ephesians 4:1-6, and she explained that Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians while he was in prison for proclaiming Christ. And while he was in prison, he was urging them to be humble, and patient with one another, and to maintain unity in the Spirit. Even though there were many things that were different among them, the thing they had in common was by far the most important: they had all been saved by the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Kay briefly took us back through the first three chapters of Ephesians where Paul reminded the Ephesians of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then in chapter 4, he tells them that they should see each other through the "lenses" of that gospel he had just reminded them of. If they saw each other that way, Paul said, they would have unity in Christ. Kay said it's no different for us. When we put on gospel glasses, we will see that all believers have unity in Christ through the gospel.

Visit any middle school or high school anywhere in the country and you will see a cultural phenomenon called, "cliques." These are groups of 2 or more people who gather together because they have something in common that others don't. So the jocks gather over here and the skaters over there; the brainy kids on one side, and the band kids on the other. You all know what I'm talking about. The problem is that we bring this same mentality to church. We get around other believers at church and before long, cliques are forming just like at school.

Paul said this should not be so. Even though we're all different (and that's a good thing by the way), we all share one very important thing in common: we have been saved by the gospel of Jesus Christ. So we need to put our gospel glasses on. Before we do that, we just see a bunch of people who are different from us. But after we put on gospel glasses, we will see a bunch of people who share unity in Christ with us through the gospel. You will find that there is nothing better to have in common with someone else than unity in Christ!

So what does that look like for you? Do you have a tendency to hang around other people who are just like you, even at church? Do you avoid getting to know someone if they seem different than you? What if they are a believer? What if you both share a love for Jesus Christ because of what he has done for you? Is that not a good enough foundation on which to build a lifelong friendship? You will never know if you only see others through worldly lenses. Put on your gospel glasses, and connect with others through the most important bond you can share with anyone—unity in Christ through the gospel.