Some Assembly Required

    Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He Who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much more as you see the Day approaching.      Hebrews 10:23-25  

     And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him Who is the Head – Christ – from Whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.      Ephesians 4:11-16

The “assembling” in the Hebrews passage is a word related to “synagogue.” That type of assembly is like piling things into a pile that will all be spread back into their original or other locations when the wind or rain comes.

The word pictures that create the idea of assembly in the Ephesians passage are more like a bicycle that is delivered in a box. If you shake the box, the nuts and bolts and parts shuffle and rattle, because they are assembled “synagogue” style. When you follow the instructions to turn the parts into a vehicle, you have joined and knit them into a unit. They stay together and work can then be done with them as a bicycle.

Let us cease being assembled  in the way of the synagogue (piled and then parted), and instead be built up by what every joint (every relationship) supplies, joined by love and knit by purpose, into a bride who is an appropriate partner for the Son of God.

If the synagogue (gathering place) where you gather with the church doesn’t create environments in which you can build relationships that are focused on Kingdom work, take responsibility for creating your own. All of creation is groaning waiting on us to step into that wondrous realm!