Solomon is king, stay in your lane!

Good day,

 

I am so overwhelmed, where do I begin? Recently, my pastor taught a message on purpose. I remember it was a Friday stream, which was God sent because prior to it, I had a conversation with a colleague about purpose and God’s love. My colleague felt like God loved other people more than others because of what he availed or withheld from them. Obviously, this outlook is a distortion of truth, thus an avenue used by the enemy to make people to question their value, place, and identity in God’s Kingdom.

 

To be honest, I have been fascinated by the concept of purpose and to an extend “belonging”. I have often questioned my purpose and whether I am living purposefully. It is something that occasionally reared its head and brought forth incredibly heavy emotions. I have discussed this with quite  a number of people over the years and one person in particular said to me,  “Happy, the revelation of purpose is progressive.” This statement stands out among many because it helped me grasp that I may not know the entirety of a matter, but we work at it daily and through steps of obedience, we will ultimately realise it.

 

Then came a day, I think it was just after prayer and devotion where the Lord really dropped it in my heart that purpose is both a destination and a process. He helped me understand what the gentleman who spoke about the progressive revelation of purpose meant. God made me understand that every step I took in obedience unto Him is itself living in purpose, also the outcome of the steps or processes taken are the realization of that purpose, as well as its end. Hmmmmm, I pray and hope that this makes sense.

 

Now, the question is, what do the above have to with Solomon being king? Solomon, Jedidiah: the man loved by God. Today I want to just look at Solomon, the man loved and chosen by God. I realise that, for some odd reason, I am emotional as I think about this man. I cannot tell you why I am emotional because I genuinely do not know. Perhaps I am in awe of God and how He did things in relation to Solomon, as well as saddened by what was lost when God was no longer His everything. (ohh, snap out of it Happy, this is not teary blog). I am literally trying to get myself out of the funk of emotions that I am experiencing as I write this. I just took a deep breath so that I can share what I am here to share (ask me why I am sharing this little weird moment with you, and I will tell you that I am surprised as well, I have absolutely no idea. But I did promise myself and most importantly God that I would write honestly. I guess I am just trying to be honest with you).

 

I am back… at least I hope 😊!

 

Who was Solomon? Solomon was the son of David and Bathsheba. Personally, Solomon represents the love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness of God. He is a child borne to parents whose relationship started with adultery and murder. He is their second born son and the man who would become king after David, his father. When his older brother was born God sent word through Prophet Nathan that he would die and indeed he died. He is conceived during a period when David is comforting Bathsheba over the loss of their first-born son. In today’s language, Solomon would be deemed a rainbow baby.

 

When he is born, God does not attach the mistakes or bad decisions of his parents to him or even his purpose. Instead, the word says God loved him. He was accepted and embraced by God regardless of how his parents came to be. God chose him and purposed him despite the story of his and his parents’ origin. How gracious is the God we serve? May today be the day you detach from how it came about that you are here, and you begin to focus on the truth that God wants you here. You are not a mistake despite the story about your conception, birth, childhood or even a difficult life.

 

I truly believe that the first step of living purposefully is recognising that you are a necessary being in God’s plans. The Lord ordained a lane / path for you. Acknowledge the necessity for your very existence; it is not in vain. You were born for such a time as this, as Mordecai once expressed to Esther. There is no error or mistake that God made in creating you regardless of what transpired at the inception of your being or during your life (whether good or bad).

 

Today, I would like to tell you that though people abandoned or rejected you and harsh painful circumstances prevailed in your life, God loves and wants you. You are His. Yes, it hurts so badly that you were abandoned / rejected, and I am so sorry for those experiences, as well as pain thereof. But please do not allow that to determine your value or worth. God wants you to know that you are worthy, you mean so much to Him. You are worth dying for, so Jesus died for you. Please do not be discouraged. God loves you so much. He wants you for Himself, He purposed you, please trust Him! You are so precious and wonderful; you are the apple of God’s eyes. May the Holy Spirit help us all to accept and receive God’s love. His thoughts of you are immeasurable and His plans are to prosper you. Ohhhhh, the Love of God. What a wonder it is.

 

Thank you, Jesus, thank you so much gracious Lord. You are so wonderful and amazing. You love us so much, we have done nothing to deserve your love, yet You love us with an everlasting love. We lay our lives at your feet, with open hearts and minds we approach your throne for we are accepted in the beloved; we can come boldly to the throne of grace for our times of need. We are yielding to you, Oh Holy God, for you and you alone are our God. We live because you deemed it so. Thank you for the precious gift of life. Thank you for the purposes that you have ordained for our lives. You are so incredible. We love you so much Lord! Thank you, thank you, thank you for being you! Lord, we love you so much. There is none like you, none can be equated, paralleled, or even compared to you. We are in awe of you! Lord Jesus Christ, I don’t know what to say to you besides thank you. I am in complete awe of you. Amen.

 

I just pray that the incredible love of God may overwhelm and completely defeat us. May His love fill our hearts, homes, offices, cars, etc. and defeat us. Shooo, I must say, this is by far the most overwhelmed that I have ever been writing to you, but I am grateful for the moment, as well as the opportunity. It is truly an honour and a privilege that I do not take likely. I think I am almost done crying so that I can get back to writing about Solomon being a king and us staying in our lanes (if I knew how to capture a deep sigh in words, I would, so Selah!). Also, I do not know if it was a good idea writing this whilst listening to a song titled “Holy Spirit, we need You”, because I am just weeping.

 

Hhhhhh…… Back to it…

 

The living God is an incredible planner. Everything God determines or does is well thought out and His plans are waterproof or gap-proof. God plans every detail and knows exactly what he is doing, seeks to accomplish, how he seeks to do it, what is necessary for the achievement of it (his plan), etc. so even his creation of us is well thought out. There is no human being that exists in vain or for the sake of it. He really wanted us here and he wanted us for a reason. This should dispel any insecurities that we have about our existence, it was well thought out. You are well thought out; you are in his plans, in fact, you are his plan.

 

Genesis 1: ²⁶ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. ²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. ²⁸ And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

 

Jeremiah 1: ⁴ Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,⁵ Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

 

Psalm 139: “¹³You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. ¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. ¹⁶ You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. ¹⁷ How precious are your thoughts about me,[b] O God. They cannot be numbered! ¹⁸ I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!”

 

God did not suddenly feel bored and said to himself “What can I do?”, then bang, creates man. No, he planned it all. I mean, the word of God tells us that from the foundation of the world the lamb of God was slain in order to redeem mankind. How does the plan for our redemption come into effect prior to our existence and we question our existence, God’s love, and his purposes for our lives? God loves and wants us that much that he would set in motion a plan for salvation before the fall of man. I know that I am repeating myself but truly amazed.

 

Revelation 13: “⁸ And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. ⁹ If any man have an ear, let him hear.”

 

Just like you and I, Solomon was God’s plan, despite how things came about; his siblings were also God’s plan, no one is born in vain. Solomon was God ordained to become a king in his father place once David abdicated due to old age; however, there are two events that occurred in David’s household that threatened his (Solomon’s) ascension to the throne of David; both events were results of the blatant disregard of the will of God by Solomon’s siblings (David’s eldest sons i.e., Absalom and Adonijah.

 

The below scriptures speak of Solomon and the role he would play as king over Israel. I should also state that purpose is not a title, but a title can play a significant role in one’s purpose. Purpose is what you do, as well as the outcomes thereof. Titles create or avail platforms for the realization of purpose, they are not purposes themselves. The history of the kings of Israel and Judah clearly show this. Many became kings (title) over Israel, but few led Israel to the destination ordained by God, thus resulting in their captivity in Babylon (failed purpose).

 

1 Kings 5: ⁵ And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name.

 

1 Chronicles 17: ¹ Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, Lo, I dwell in an house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord remaineth under curtains.² Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine heart; for God is with thee. ³ And it came to pass the same night, that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, ⁴ Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in.”

 

1 Chronicles 17: ¹¹ And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. ¹² He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever. ¹³ I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee:

 

1 Kings 1: ¹¹ Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not? ¹² Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon.¹³ Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then doth Adonijah reign? ¹⁴ Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words.

 

1 Chronicles 22: ⁶ Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for the Lord God of Israel. ⁷ And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God: ⁸ But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight. ⁹ Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.

 

From the above scripture we understand that Solomon would be king after David. Now, what nearly hindered this?

 

David had multiple children by multiple women. We are introduced to six of his sons born to him in Hebron in 2 Samuel 3:2 – 5 and 1 Chronicles 3

 

1 Chronicles 3: “¹ These are the sons of David who were born in Hebron: The oldest was Amnon, whose mother was Ahinoam from Jezreel. The second was Daniel, whose mother was Abigail from Carmel. ² The third was Absalom, whose mother was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur. The fourth was Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith. ³ The fifth was Shephatiah, whose mother was Abital. The sixth was Ithream, whose mother was Eglah, David’s wife. ⁴ These six sons were born to David in Hebron, where he reigned seven and a half years.”

 

The six above are David’s eldest children, the others would be born after leaving Hebron. Amnon was killed by Absalom after he raped his sister Tamar and David did nothing about the rape. Daniel (Chileab) is the second son, not much is written about him. Then Absalom; he is the third son who was offended in his father for failing to act against Amnon after violating his sister. Adonijah is the fourth.

 

Absalom and Adonijah both sought to remove their father David from his throne and replace him as king. This is despite the fact that they were not chosen by God to be kings. I am also of the belief that they felt that they were eligible to become kings in the place of David because they were the eldest. I am therefore of the view that even Daniel passed away, this view comes from the actions taken by the third and fourth sons of David in laying claim to the throne without any regard for him as he would have been the oldest after Amnon. They seemed entitled and even impatient to take over as kings.

 

Absalom: David’s third son

Absalom allowed rage to control him after his sister’s rape. He killed his brother Amnon and fled to Geshur to his maternal family.

 

2 Samuel 13: “²⁸ Now Absalom commanded his servants, Notice now, when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine and when I say to you, Strike Amnon, then kill him. Fear not; have I not commanded you? Be courageous and brave. ²⁹ And the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose and every man mounted his mule and fled.”

^“38 So Absalom fled to Geshur and was there three years.” (APMC)

 

Throughout the three years of his absence, David longed for his son Absalom; this was known by all those around him but he never went after him. Absalom was brought back after the three years but still did not have an audience with his father David.

 

2 Samuel 14: ²⁰ In order to change the course of matters [between Absalom and his father] your servant Joab did this. But my lord has wisdom like the wisdom of the angel of God—to know all things that are on the earth. ²¹ Then the king said to Joab, Behold now, I grant this; go, bring back the young man Absalom. ²² And Joab fell to the ground on his face and did obeisance and thanked the king. And Joab said, Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has performed the request of his servant. ²³ So Joab arose, went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. ²⁴ And the king said, Let him go to his own house, and let him not see my face. So, Absalom went to his own house and did not see the king’s face. ²⁵ But in all Israel, there was none so much to be praised for his beauty as Absalom; from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.

 

After some years, Absalom requested an audience with David through Joab. This was facilitated and the two “reconciled.” Little did David know that his beloved son was plotting against him and sought to take his crown, as well as his throne.

 

2 Samuel 15:” ¹ After this, Absalom got a chariot and horses, and fifty men to run before him. ² And [he] rose up early and stood beside the gateway; and when any man who had a controversy came to the king for judgment, Absalom called to him, Of what city are you? And he would say, Your servant is of such and such a tribe of Israel. ³ Absalom would say to him, Your claims are good and right, but there is no man appointed as the king’s agent to hear you. ⁴ Absalom added, Oh, that I were judge in the land! Then every man with any suit or cause might come to me and I would do him justice! ⁵ And whenever a man came near to do obeisance to him, he would put out his hand, take hold of him, and kiss him. ⁶ Thus Absalom did to all Israel who came to the king for judgment. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.”

 

2 Samuel 15: ⁹ And the king said to him, Go in peace. So, he arose and went to Hebron. ¹⁰ But Absalom sent secret messengers throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then say, Absalom is king at Hebron. ¹¹ With Absalom went 200 men from Jerusalem, who were invited [as guests to his sacrificial feast]; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not a thing.

 

2 Samuel 15 shows us that Absalom had resolved to become king and he intentionally stole the hearts of people that he would be preferred over David. When we read further even in proceeding chapters, we realise that Absalom detested his father, David, such that he even wanted to take his life. David and his family members, except his concubines, fled in order to preserve their lives. Absalom literally hunted his father until he met his own end at the hands of Joab and his men.

 

2 Samuel 18: ¹⁴ Joab said, “I’m not going to wait like this for you.” So, he took three javelins in his hand and plunged them into Absalom’s heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree. ¹⁵ And ten of Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him, and killed him. ¹⁶ Then Joab sounded the trumpet, and the troops stopped pursuing Israel, for Joab halted them. ¹⁷ They took Absalom, threw him into a big pit in the forest and piled up a large heap of rocks over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled to their homes.¹⁸ During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the King’s Valley as a monument to himself, for he thought, “I have no son to carry on the memory of my name.” He named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom’s Monument to this day.

 

Adonijah: David’s fourth son

 

1 Kings 1: “⁵ Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, “I will be king.” So, he got chariots and horses[a] ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him. ⁶ (His father had never rebuked him by asking, “Why do you behave as you do?” He was also very handsome and was born next after Absalom.) ⁷ Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, and they gave him their support. 8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei and Rei and David’s special guard did not join Adonijah. ⁹ Adonijah then sacrificed sheep, cattle, and fattened calves at the Stone of Zoheleth near En Rogel. He invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the royal officials of Judah, 10 but he did not invite Nathan the prophet or Benaiah or the special guard or his brother Solomon.”

 

Adonijah’s guest list already spells a problem. Like his brother Absalom they chose people who will not disagree with them, those who would blindly support them. Adonijah knew what he was doing, he knew very well that Solomon would be king, and he knew very well that Nathan (prophet), Zadok (priest), Benaiah, Shimei and Rei, etc. would not support him because they were waiting on David to make Solomon king, hence they were excluded from his ”coronation.”

 

It should be stated that neither Absalom nor Adonijah waited for David to abdicate or die before making themselves kings. The utter disrespect of these children, but we also learn from scripture that David was not a good disciplinarian; no matter how much his children hurt or disappointed him, their actions always seemed inconsequential. Look at how he dealt with Amnon, Absalom and Adonijah when they did wrong; David did nothing, he just got angry 😐 that is it!

 

Anyway, if Solomon was always intended to be king, as per the determination of the Lord, that means Absalom and Adonijah were not meant to take up the kingship of Israel. They, however, felt or believed that they were the right people for the role of king based on their own reasons. My problem with their determination is that it was not by God’s design, so what was God’s plan for them? I don’t know, looking at scripture, I know what was not. The sad part about these two men’s stories is that they missed out on living the lives that God intended for them because they pursued the lives, they intended for themselves. They missed out on their purposes because they were chasing other people’s titles and purposes.

 

Why do I think that they missed out on their own lives, or purposes? They dedicated time and resources to obtaining or acquiring what was meant for someone else instead of living as God had intended for them. Where were they going to get additional time and resources to invest in God’s plans for their lives when they were so consumed and invested in the “grass that is greener on the other side?”

 

Some of us are not as extreme as David’s two sons but are no different in that we are busy living or pursuing other people’s lives instead of our own. We identified what we love or like in others and began pursuing the same things instead of walking in our lanes and discovering with God what he intended for us. Admiring someone who is walking firmly in their calling should only serve as inspiration to walk in our own callings. It should not drive us to pursue what they are or have. Ours is to be inspired to walk authentically along the path that the Lord has set for us. We cannot emulate people’s purposes, and should we attempt to do so, we will rob ourselves of the authentic lives that God ordained for us, which I believe David’s sons lost. They both died painful deaths whilst trying to be what they were not. Their selfish driven pursuits culminated in their senseless ends without accomplishing anything meaningful.

 

After Nathan and Bathsheba’s intervention, David crowned his son Solomon as king. Solomon would be the king that builds the Lord a house, an honour even David did not have. God would make him the wisest and wealthiest king ever. All availed to him in order to lead the children of God in the ways of the Lord. Yes, he lost his way along the way; this just teaches us thus living purposefully requires God. So, not only should we not pursue others’ purposes, but in pursuit of our own, we should not loose sight of God or become independent of Him. God ordained purposes can only be realised or fulfilled with God.

 

Going back for a moment, when Adonijah and his crew were finishing their feast, something happened that disrupted everything.

 

1 King 1: ³² King David said, “Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada.” When they came before the king, ³³ he said to them: “Take your lord’s servants with you and have Solomon my son mount my own mule and take him down to Gihon. ³⁴ There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, ‘Long live King Solomon!’ ³⁵ Then you are to go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah.” ³⁶ Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, “Amen! May the Lord, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. ³⁷ As the Lord was with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon to make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord King David!” ³⁸ So Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the Kerethites and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon mount King David’s mule, and they escorted him to Gihon. ³⁹ Zadok the priest took the horn of oil from the sacred tent and anointed Solomon. Then they sounded the trumpet and all the people shouted, “Long live King Solomon!” ⁴⁰ And all the people went up after him, playing pipes and rejoicing greatly, so that the ground shook with the sound. ⁴¹ Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they were finishing their feast. On hearing the sound of the trumpet, Joab asked, “What’s the meaning of all the noise in the city?” ⁴² Even as he was speaking, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest arrived. Adonijah said, “Come in. A worthy man like you must be bringing good news.”⁴³ “Not at all!” Jonathan answered. “Our lord King David has made Solomon king.

Solomon had taken his place as king and the people were elated but Adonijah was terrified; however, he did not change; he still wanted what was not his to have.

 

1 Kings 2: ¹³ Now Adonijah, the son of Haggith, went to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. Bathsheba asked him, “Do you come peacefully?” He answered, “Yes, peacefully.” ¹⁴ Then he added, “I have something to say to you.” “You may say it,” she replied. ¹⁵ “As you know,” he said, “the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the Lord. ¹⁶ Now I have one request to make of you. Do not refuse me.” “You may make it,” she said.¹⁷ So he continued, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.” ¹⁸ “Very well,” Bathsheba replied, “I will speak to the king for you.”

 

Adonijah continued to be entitled. He even asked to be given Abishag, the young virgin that was brought to king David as an intimate companion. Solomon killed him for this, he just could not take it anymore. Ooooo Adonijah, why? I guess we will never know why he thought the way he did.

 

Anyway, as I thought about writing this blog one thought came to mind and it was in essence that, we often don’t want to live the lives that God has given us because we think they are insignificant in comparison to the lives he gave others. The worst part is that we will never be fulfilled living pretentious lives, there will always be something in us yearning for the very purposes that the Lord ordained. I pray that we start loving and embracing the paths the Lord has set for us. I pray that instead of envying the grass that is greener on the other side, we start watering, cutting, nourishing our grass that it too may be green.

 

Some of us have abandoned the paths that the Lord has set for us because of the shame of sin. We have counted ourselves out and think we are not worthy because of the things we have done. I just want to remind you that there was blood shed on the cross of calvary; there is still an opportunity to repent and surrender to God. Do not embrace the shame and guilt, remember that your sins are forgiven, and righteousness has been imputed upon you. Repent and return to your post; walk the path that the Lord set before you. Do not allow the enemy to rob you of your life.

 

Every single one of us has a role to play in the plan of God, hence we were born. It was not a mistake that God gave you the personality that he gave you, or made you a certain way, or gave you the gender that he gave you. God was and is very intentional about all that he does. Trust that you matter. The bible tells us about how we are one body with many parts and every part is necessary for the body in its entirety to function optimally. If you are a hand, do what hands do, if you are a muscle, do what muscles do. You see, a ligament will never do what a nerve does, even if it wanted to. So, let us stay in our lanes and live our lives as ordained by God. There is no better life to live than your own. Do not miss out on your life because you covet or envy another’s.

 

As I conclude, Do not look down on who God made you to be. You are integral part of his plan and kingdom.

 

1 Corinthians 12: ¹² There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. ¹³ We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit. And so, we are formed into one body. It didn’t matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves, or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink. ¹⁴ So the body is not made up of just one part. It has many parts.¹⁵ Suppose the foot says, “I am not a hand. So, I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. ¹⁶ And suppose the ear says, “I am not an eye. So, I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how could it smell? ¹⁸ God has placed each part in the body just as he wanted it to be. 19 If all the parts were the same, how could there be a body? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts. But there is only one body. ²¹ The eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²² In fact, it is just the opposite. The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are the ones we can’t do without. ²³ The parts that we think are less important we treat with special honor. The private parts aren’t shown. But they are treated with special care. ²⁴ The parts that can be shown don’t need special care. But God has put together all the parts of the body. And he has given more honor to the parts that didn’t have any. ²⁵ In that way, the parts of the body will not take sides. All of them will take care of one another. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part shares in its joy. ²⁷ You are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it.

 

Ephesians 4: 1 - 16  “¹I therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to and beg you to walk (lead a life) worthy of the [divine] calling to which you have been called [with behavior that is a credit to the summons to God’s service, ² Living as becomes you] with complete lowliness of mind (humility) and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing with one another and making allowances because you love one another…. ¹⁶ For because of Him the whole body (the church, in all its various parts), closely joined and firmly knit together by the joints and ligaments with which it is supplied, when each part [with power adapted to its need] is working properly [in all its functions], grows to full maturity, building itself up in love.” AMPC

 

Love

Happy