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REFLECTION
The theme for our reflection is “Growing to become the mature body of Christ” The body of Christ refers to the church. The mature body of Christ means attaining the perfect image of Christ as a church. Growing to become the mature body of Christ means the Church developing to a stage where it can represent the perfect image of Christ in the world. We shall reflect on the fact that growing to become the mature body of Christ requires feeding on the Truth or the Word of God. Feeding on the Truth or the Word of God has two important phases,
1. The stewardship of those entrusted with the Truth or the Word of God
2. The desire of the members of the body of Christ to feed on the Truth or the Word of God.

Beloved in the Lord, just as human beings require food to grow or develop, Christian maturity or the body of Christ requires the Truth or the Word of God to become the mature body of Christ.
Firstly, for the body of Christ to become matured, some ministries have been entrusted to be stewards of the Word of Truth. They are to ensure that the body of Christ is well fed with the Word of God or the Truth so that the desired spiritual maturity or development will take place in the body of Christ. It for this reason Paul wrote that “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹² to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³ until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13). The apostles were the first few people Jesus appointed, trained and sent to proclaim the Gospel and to start and provide leadership to the early church, the prophets revealed God’s will to His people, and the evangelists proclaimed Gospel and led as many who will believed or received the Good News to the Lord, The pastors and teachers discipled, nurtured and provided daily Scripture guidance and instructions to the members of the body of Christ. It should be noted that through the gift and empowerment of the Holy Spirit, one person may perform the roles of a prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher. These servants of the Lord work together to ensure that the body of Christ becomes mature and attains the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. They are stewards of the Word of God or the Truth and must work day and night to ensure that the body of Christ is well nourished with the Word of God. The stewardship of the Word was so important that Paul had to remind Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15). To correctly handle the word of truth, a steward of the Word must be student of the Word, always studying it and allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal God’s will for him or her and the entire body of Christ. Some churches in the twenty-first century are declining in their spiritual maturity and experiencing slow growth because those who ought to teach or preach have limited knowledge of the Scripture. They preach or teach the Scripture selectively to please their listeners. The inspired and impactful word of Truth is not being preached hence the body of Christ is suffering from spiritual kwashiorkor or spiritual malnutrition. No wonder, James cautions us that “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” (James 3:1). Dear friend in the Lord, our generation needs more faithful stewards of the word of Truth or the Scripture to preach or teach the Word of God effectively. The body of Christ can become fully matured when the Word of God is preached or taught effectively by pastors and teachers, evangelists and anyone called into the Ministry of the Word. “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

Secondly, when the stewards of the Word of Truth have discharged their responsibilities effectively, it is also the duty of other members of the body of Christ to have an unquenchable desire to listen, study and obey the Word of God. It is, for this reason, Paul admonished us that if we apply ourselves to the Word of God, “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵ Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.” (Ephesians 4:14-15) Some churches are blessed with good and committed stewards of the Word but those who are to listen to the teachings are like the different types of soils or surfaces Jesus talked about in the parable of the Sower. Jesus described the nature of the various kinds of listeners we have in our churches when he explained that ” The seed is the word of God. ¹² Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³ Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. ¹⁴ The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. ¹⁵ But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” (Luke 8:11-15). Beloved in the Lord what kind of listener are you when the Word of God is being preached? Are you the path, rocky ground, thorn stands or the good soil? Indeed, as the Word is being preached some people doze off or fall asleep, chit-chat on the pews, gallivant around the chapel or stand outside the chapel to chat with friends. Others fidget with their phones, and some become absent-minded and eager to go elsewhere hence failing to focus on the Word of God. Again, some people dislike places where soul-searching and challenging sermons are preached. Regardless of this attitude, Paul greatly admonishes us through his letter to Timothy, “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: ² Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage —with great patience and careful instruction. ³ For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. ⁵ But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:1-5) Dear friend in the Lord, how can we grow to become the mature body of Christ if we lack appetite, desire, love and passion for the Word of God? How can we grow to become the mature body of Christ if we refuse to feed on the Word of God daily for our spiritual nourishment? If we desire to grow spiritually or become the mature body of Christ then we must begin to apply the principle of “No Bible, No Breakfast” in our lives even as we listen, study and obey the Word of God in the different forms it comes to us.

There is no better way to prepare for the Advent of the Lord than to feed on the Word of God even as we mature into His perfect image. Advent season offers us the opportunity to reflect and most importantly refocus our attention on the Word of God for our revival and preparation for the second advent of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us start a new journey of reviving our relationship with the Lord through the daily study and obedience to His Word. May our motivation and principle be “No Bible, No Breakfast” even as you continually remain prepared for His arrival.

In summary, we have reflected on the theme, “Growing to become the mature body of Christ” We have discovered that growing to become the mature body of Christ requires feeding on the Truth or the Word of God. Feeding on the truth or the Word of God has two phases, thus, the stewardship of those entrusted with the Truth and the desire of the members of the body of Christ to feed on the Truth.

PRAYER
Almighty God, strengthen us to always have a strong desire or appetite for Your Word so that we shall grow to become the mature body of Christ even as we await His second coming. We acknowledge and agree with the Psalmist that “Your word is a lamp for our feet, a light on our path.” Amen (Psalms 119:105)