Building the Ranks

Ephesians 1:3-10

Verse 4-5  For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.  In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will

    Before any soldier can go into battle they need to be enlisted in the army.  In the case of His spiritual army God has chosen who He wants fighting on His side.  He is the one who has built up His ranks yet His reason for choosing the men and women He has is different than a regular army.  A national army has a recruiting system where they go out and try to enlist those willing to serve.  They seek out those who are physically able and can pass the rigorous training and testing.

    The recruits are sharpened at various skills and work toward one of the most important things for any successful team, they need to gain comradery.  This isn’t an easy task as each individual has a unique personality and come from various backgrounds.  Both of those differences can add to the stress of working together but when those people can find their common goal in winning the battle or finishing their training course, great things can happen.

    God chooses His people because He loves them and loved them before they were born.  He draws them to Himself and wants them to be blames and holy as He is.  He knows the enemy will be trying to confuse people as to which side of the battle they are on and so the Lord wants to make sure the people He has chosen are doing their part to be aware of their identity in Him.

    The really unique mark of God’s army is that He calls us His children.  His army is family.  This is all the more reason we need to be working together as a team to accomplish His goals.  Sometimes that is easier said than done as we also come from various backgrounds and have different personalities.  But just like any military unit there are different roles among the ranks which use various talents.

    Some of those positions may seem more important than others but every role is important.  An army unit needs ranked officers but they also need cooks and medics.  If any of those people are missing the troops can’t function as they need to.  As we learn about the armor we will also learn about some of these special roles.  God has every detail planned and needs us ready with our gear on.

Making It Personal

    What does it mean to you that God has called you because of His love for you?  Does His love give you reason to respond to Him in a certain way?  What has He called you to do today?

Making It Personal Kids

    How do you know Jesus loves you?  How does His love change your life?  How do you show Him you love Him back?

Closing Prayer

    Father, we stand in awe of Your love for us.  Help us learn what it means to be a soldier for You and give us the desire to live as You have called us to live.  In Jesus’ name, amen.