Growing Into Love’s Fullness
When each part is tuned by love, the whole life resonates in harmony with Jesus.
Devotional Credit: In Christ by E. Stanley Jones
Photo Credit: Unsplash
E. Stanley Jones takes Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:15-16 and shows us what it means to grow up into Jesus in every part of our lives. The apostle speaks of maturity not as cold discipline, but as speaking the truth in love. Jones reminds us that what we continually give out, we eventually become. If we habitually give out love, we become loving. If we habitually give out criticism, we become critical. Life shapes us according to what flows from us. The call, then, is to let love be the constant outflow, because love is the very life of Jesus expressed in and through us.
Jones highlights that truth without love never redeems. Truth can become hard, brittle, or merely philosophical when it is separated from the love of God. That is why God wrapped His truth in a Person. Jesus is truth wrapped in love. He embodies it perfectly, and in Him truth is never cold, but always redemptive, always freeing, always restorative. In Him, truth becomes action, word, and deed seasoned with grace.
This kind of life touches every part of us. Jones notes that growing up into Jesus includes every area: mental, emotional, volitional, physical, and social. Nothing is left outside His transforming love. When surrendered to Him, even our hobbies, skills, and natural gifts are not discarded, but dedicated. Everything good is made better, and what is broken is healed. Love turns weakness into strength, defeat into victory, and isolation into fellowship.
When the body of Christ functions this way, with each part working properly in love, it builds itself up. Maturity is not measured by giftedness or visibility, but by love working through truth. Jones points us to a way of life that is not lop-sided, but whole, balanced, and complete in Jesus. This is what it means to grow up into Him in every way.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
My child, I have called you to grow up into Jesus in every way. Do not think of maturity as a matter of outward performance, but of letting His life work in every part of you. When you yield your mind, your will, your emotions, and your relationships to Him, I shape them into His likeness.
Truth without love can wound and divide, but in My Son truth is always clothed in love. He is the head of the body, and as you remain joined to Him, His love flows into you and out of you. What you give out in love, you become. As you encourage, forgive, and serve in His name, you discover that His love is shaping you from within.
Do not despise your gifts or skills, but dedicate them. Everything in your life, when surrendered to Him, becomes a means of showing His love. Where you are weak, His strength is made perfect. Where you are immature, He brings you into growth. As each part yields to Him, the whole body is built up.
This is the life of abiding in Christ: balanced, full, and fruitful. Grow in Him not only in knowledge, but in patience, in kindness, in endurance, in generosity, in joy. Every part of you belongs to Him, and every part is being shaped to reflect Him.
Scripture References: Ephesians 4:15-16, John 1:14, 1 John 4:16-17, Galatians 5:22-23, Colossians 3:12-14, Philippians 2:13, Romans 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 12:9, John 15:4-5, Colossians 2:6-7.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of a musical instrument being tuned. A guitar may look beautiful, but if its strings are out of balance, the sound will be off. When each string is tightened just right, the whole instrument resonates with harmony. In the same way, when every part of your life is yielded to Jesus, from your thoughts to your emotions to your daily tasks, His love brings balance and harmony.
Today, when I notice tension in my attitude or imbalance in how I respond to others, I can pause and say, “Lord, I trust You to live Your life in me and through me in this very moment.” That simple act of yielding allows His love to bring harmony where there would otherwise be discord.
Prayer of Confidence
Lord, I thank You that in Jesus I am being brought into maturity in every part of my life. Nothing is left out, for Your love touches mind, will, emotions, and relationships. I rejoice that You grow me up into Him not by my striving, but by Your Spirit working within me. I rest in the truth that what is given to You is transformed, and what is yielded to You is made fruitful.