Placed Together, Grown Together
Placed together by God, growing together in love
Devotional Credit: Open Windows, T. Austin-Sparks
Photo Credit: Unsplash
God sets the lonely in families. T. Austin-Sparks reminds us that life in Jesus is never a solo project. In Ephesians, our being made alive with Christ and seated with Him is deeply connected to His people. Enlargement happens in relatedness. We discover more of Jesus, not by retreating into isolation, but by walking with brothers and sisters who share His life.
That sounds lovely until the rub shows up. Real community includes misunderstandings, sharp corners, and different personalities. Sparks points out that these tensions are not proof that community is failing. They are often proof that something heavenly is at stake. We face pressures that aim to divide, because spiritual unity yields real fruit for the Lord. The enemy will push on any point of natural life he can find. Yet Jesus is present to form something better than our preferences, He forms His love.
So what do we do with the friction. We do not run. We receive it as a fresh invitation to know the Lord more deeply. He grows us in patience, gentleness, and long suffering as we stay connected in Him and with one another. The goal is not to win arguments, the goal is to grow up into Christ together.
I am grateful for Sparks and the way he names the struggle with honesty and hope. The call is simple and beautiful. Remain in Jesus, stay knit to His people, and expect real growth precisely where life together is not easy. Jesus is enough, and His Spirit knows how to make family out of people like us.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I joined you to Jesus, and I joined you to His people. I made you alive together with Him. I seated you with Him in the heavenly places. I blessed you with every spiritual blessing in Him. I did not design you to grow in isolation. I shaped you as a member of His body, joined and held together by what I supply, so that you mature as each part works properly in love.
When tensions rise, remember where you sit. You are in Jesus, and His peace is your peace. You are one body with many members, and you belong to one another. Bear with one another in love. Eagerly maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Let the word of the Messiah dwell in you richly, and let His Spirit fill you. I poured My love into your heart. I enable you to outdo one another in showing honor. I teach you to forgive as God in Christ has forgiven you. I knit you together in love so that the world can see that you are His disciples.
You will face schemes that seek to divide. Stand firm in the armor I provide. Resist the adversary, and he will flee. Do not repay evil for evil. Overcome evil with good. Encourage one another, stir one another to love and good works, and keep meeting together. Pray at all times in the Spirit. My fruit will appear as you remain in Jesus, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control. This is how I enlarge you, not by retreating from people, but by loving them in the life of the Son.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of a pot of stew simmering on the stove. Carrots stay carrots, onions stay onions, potatoes stay potatoes, yet over time the flavors mingle, and the whole becomes richer than any single ingredient. Sometimes the simmer brings a bit of scuffle in the pot, edges bump, heat rises, and it takes time. But given steady heat and gentle stirring, what was separate becomes a meal that nourishes.
Life together in Jesus is like that pot. You are still you, others are still themselves, but the Holy Spirit brings out Christlike flavor as you remain in the same pot, the same grace, the same love. When a hard conversation or an awkward moment bubbles up, you can turn toward the Lord rather than away from the person. For example, before you walk into a family discussion that has a history of tension, pause at the doorway and say, Lord, I yield this moment to You. Live Your patience and Your truth through me as I listen and speak. Then step in, listen with care, speak with gentleness, and let the Spirit season the room with the life of Jesus.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You for placing me in the family of Your Son. In Jesus I am made alive, I am seated with Him, and I am bound together with Your people. Your Spirit lives in me, and Your love has been poured into my heart. Today I gladly receive what You have already given, unity in the Spirit, the peace of Christ ruling in my heart, and every grace needed to bear with others in love.
I affirm that You have supplied all I need for life and godliness. You have clothed me with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience in the Messiah. You have forgiven me in Christ, and I extend that forgiveness freely. I rest in the victory of Jesus, I stand firm in the armor You provide, and I expect the fruit of the Spirit to appear as I remain in Him. Thank You that enlargement comes as I stay connected. I rejoice that You are making me more like Jesus as we walk with Your people together. Amen.
Scripture References for the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture Section
Psalm 68:6; John 13:34-35; John 15:4-5; John 17:20-23; Acts 2:42-47; Romans 5:5; Romans 8:9-11; Romans 12:4-5; Romans 12:10-21; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10; Galatians 2:20; Galatians 5:16-18; Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 2:4-6; Ephesians 2:14-22; Ephesians 4:1-6; Ephesians 4:11-16; Ephesians 4:31-32; Ephesians 5:18-21; Ephesians 6:10-18; Philippians 2:1-4; Colossians 3:12-15; Colossians 3:16-17; 1 Thessalonians 5:11-15; Hebrews 10:23-25; 1 Peter 4:8-10; 1 Peter 5:8-9