Ephesians 4:1-16 – A Slowly-Moving Ship
A ship rocked slowly upon the greasy seas. Its sails were tattered, its masts spliced, and its hull leaky with worm-eaten planks, but it still stayed afloat. It had been sailing for many years – for generations, actually. Many years ago it had been loaded with food and medicine, and dispatched to find and to help the people of a lost colony. As it traveled far and wide, all its original crew except one had died, their places taken by their children.
In the prow an old man, the last of the original crew, sat upon a coil of rope, his watery eyes struggling to pierce the fog.
Below decks men, women and children sat down in certain groups to eat. Although the fare was meager, it was adequate, and all their faces shone with health. The meal was almost over when both doors of the mess-hall were thrown open with a loud noise and a rush of wind. In the opening stood the old man, strange and wild, stronger than they had ever seen him, shouting, "We’re here! We’ve arrived at land!"
"Land?" they asked, not moving from the table. "What land?"
"Why, the land we were sent to when this voyage began. And the lost colony is there waiting. I can hear them shouting from the shore!" shouted the old man, stomping his feet with impatience. "Quick! Let’s make for shore and unload the food and the medicine."
The old man turned to run back up the gangway, but stopped half-way up when he realized there had been no movement in the mess-hall. Slowly he returned to stare at them with wide, incredulous eyes, his mouth agape. "Didn’t you hear me? Are you all deaf? I said we’re here! The people we set out to help are only a few hundred yards away. But we must hurry, for they are all hungry and sick."
The group known as the Spectators sat back and said, "Well, this should be quite something to watch. We should get good seats for it."
The group known as the Steamrollers wanted to push around the Spectators for their laziness.
The group known as the Squabblers wanted to fight with all the other groups on board about how their way was the best way.
The group known as the Separatists, huddled in the corner, was not even sure that it could work with anyone else on board. After all, the group thought it was the only group that was right.
The group known as the Thumbsuckers sat back and complained that nothing ever went their way.
The group known as the Spindrifters (note: spindrift is the water sprayed into the air by ocean winds and waves) wanted to let the current take the vessel somewhere else, somewhere more interesting, somewhere that they could "feel the Spirit."
And the group known as the Usurpers wanted to wrestle control of the ship from the old man, certain that they could pilot the ship and make decisions better than he.
"I’m sure we’d all like to help those people," said one of the men from the Spectators group, "but – as you can see – there’s hardly enough food and medicine here to take care of us and our children."
"Besides," said one of the women from the Separatists group, "we don’t know what kind of people they are. Who knows what might happen if we landed and went among them?"
The old man staggered back, as if he had been struck across the face. "But… but… it was for them that this voyage began in the first place so many years ago, for them that the ship was built, for them that the food and medicine were stowed aboard!"
"Yes, old man, I’ve heard many tales of our launching from my father and the other men who are now dead," replied one of the younger men from the Spindrifters group, following the latest thought from would-be philosophers, "but there were so many different accounts that how can we be sure which one is right? Why risk our stores and provisions, perhaps even our lives, on something we may not even be supposed to do?"
"He’s right! He’s right!" shouted many of the others from many of the groups, now quite excitedly involved in the conversation.
"But look," said the old man, trying very hard to contain himself, "it’s all very simple! As far as there not being enough food for us and them, much of what we have left is meant for seed. If we go ashore and plant it, then there will be more than enough for all. And on the matter of why the ship was launched in the first place – you merely have to look in the logbook. It’s all there."
The old man, hoping he had settled the question, looked anxiously from face to face around the tables. There was a long, thoughtful silence. Finally, a man, also from the Spectators group, who had gravitated to a position of leadership among them stood up, picking his teeth and frowning thoughtfully.
"Perhaps the old man is right," he said, loosening a juicy morsel from between 2 teeth. "At any rate, his suggestion merits investigation. What I propose is this: let us select from among ourselves a representative committee which will see if they can find the old logbook, and then go into a thorough study of it, to see if they can determine whether we should land or not."
"A sensible idea!" they all cried, except the old man. "Let’s do it!"
The old man, now frantic with hearing the cries from shore, shouted, "What is this? What are you doing? Oh!" he said, backing away from them with horror in his eyes. "I can see that you don’t really expect to do anything at all!" His back against a bulkhead, he clutched at his chest and slid weakly to the floor.
"Let me warn you then," he gasped. "The food will not last. It was meant to stay preserved only for the time it would take to get here. Now the food will begin to grow moldy, and the medicines will separate and lost their strength. If you do not take the provisions ashore and share them, they will soon no longer feed or cure even you." With this, he died.
As the days and weeks passed, the ship continued to lie offshore. The committee continued to search the logbook, which they had soon found, hoping to come up with a report "in the near future." A few of the younger men and women, maddened with the waiting and lured irresistibly by the cries of hunger and pain from the shore, slipped away one night in the jolly boat with a few provisions, and were listed sorrowfully the next day as "lost at sea."
True to the old man’s dying prophecy, the food on board began to grow all manner of weird and exotic fungi, and the extensive stores of medicine seemed less and less able to cure the ills of the people. Also, the cries from the shore began to grow so much louder than even the deafest on board had to stuff his ears with cotton in order to sleep. But no-one seemed to be able to decide what to do.
Of course, this is a dreadfully bleak but perhaps accurate view of the modern-day church. And to this local body of believers, I encourage you: don’t become a casualty. Don’t become adrift with no vision of the future for reaching those without food and medicine. What better time to evaluate the state of the church, and ultimately your hearts, than with the arrival of my friend Tim as a new pastor on staff? Let’s turn to Ephesians 4:1-16 for God’s view on how this rescue vessel should be about the life-saving business. (Read all.)
This is God’s vision for the church of Jesus Christ. In this passage, prescriptions for the attitude problems are given one by one, in order to make the church a forward-moving rescue vessel, instead of a sleeping ship lying offshore from the realities of the world.
To the Spectators, those who are content merely to watch and not be involved, the Bible says: You are called; live the calling! (v1) Be involved. Do your part. Do not merely watch; participate!
To the Steam-rollers, those who trample all over others to accomplish their tasks, the Bible says: Love others! (v2) They are not just a means to an end; they are part of the journey as well. Don’t use people to get done what you want. Be nice to people. Be kind to others. Treat others as you would want to be treated.
To the Squabblers, those who constantly bicker with each other and never see eye to eye, the Bible says: Keep peace. (v3) Jesus said we are most like our Heavenly Father when we are peacemakers. Don’t fight with everyone. Remember we are all part of the journey.
The world looks at us and sees the fighting and unrest, and says, "If I want to be part of something that fights all the time, I’ll just go visit my in-laws!" It is better to be wrong and be at peace, than be right and be at war.
To the Separatists, those who think they are the only ones going to heaven, the only ones in the right, the Bible says: Consider all we have in common. (v4-6) One body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. Yet we major on the minors, and minor on the majors. As Johnny Cash once said, we’re all in this together if we’re in it at all.
To the Thumbsuckers, those who act like children and want their own way, the Bible says: Grow up! (v14a) Mature! Get with the program. Grow mature in the Lord, not just grow older. Acts like adults. Take responsibility.
To the Spindrifters, those who follow every wind and wave, who go where the action is without ever getting grounded, the Bible says: Get grounded (v14b). Stay put. Grow where you are.
To the Usurpers, those who stand over the leaders’ shoulders and judge and criticize everything he tries, the Bible says: Understand who is really in charge (v15). Understand that it is the Lord’s church, and He set it up. Understand that the pastor is only human, but he is placed there by God. It is not your place to point fingers, and wish about the olden and better days, and think that you could be doing it better. It is your task, congregation, to pray for the pastor, to love him and his wife and family, to encourage him and strengthen him. Pastoring is a lonely calling at times. And you can make it better or worse.
And we come to the last group, the group not found on the ship in our story, but the group that every church needs. It is the Supporters (v16). V16 in the NIV says that the whole body is joined and held together by every supporting ligament. It is the people who share in the ministry. It is the cooks and cleaners. It is the teachers and ushers. It is the prayer-warriors and the children of encouragement. It is the workers and volunteers. It is the heart-beat of the church of Jesus Christ. It is those who stand by their pastor. So Pastor Tim, preach the Word. Love the people. Pray for them. Listen to their thoughts. And lead them to a higher plane of living.
And folks, do your part. D.L. Moody said: "A good many are kept out of the service of Christ, deprived of the luxury of working for God, because they are trying to do some great thing. Let us be willing to do little things. And let us remember that nothing is small in which God is the source." Let God be the source of all that happens in this church.
Oh, and one more nautical thought: People who are busy rowing seldom rock the boat.
(Many thanks to Jude Miniken, my chat room friend, without whose illustration the sermon would not have been nearly as potent.)
