Before Paul sails for Jerusalem, he gathers his friends and lets thm know he will never see them again...something is gonna happen there. But before Paul leaves, he gives them some instructions; challenges we shudl still carry on with today.
We are overseers of the church! That church we oversee, it has been bought with the blood of Jesus Christ, and entrusted to us by the Holy Spirit! Our duty is to proclaim the "whole will of God." The whole will of God strengthens the weak, satisfies our longings, and saves our souls! Yet Paul warns us to be on guard for those who would distort the word and use it to draw people away to follow them.
It seems to me that what Paul worries about is those who would proclaim the selective word of God. The selective words of God is popular! Ignoring certain scriptures makes life easier! mercy without justice (or vice versa) is much more black and white! And a word that allows you to make faith personal, and not a social responsibility, is nice and simple! But that word is incomplete. And I can't help but think we have let many a savage wolf come in to this precious church and have his/her way because we too have fallen for something partial.
I think the challenge from Paul here is to embrace that "whole will of God." I struggle with what that means, but I am sure it is much more complicated and unpopular than the way I am living right now.
For this chapter, the example I want to follow was the love that Paul and the Ephesians had for each other. This goes beyond the brotherly love that we often hear about. For 3 years (vs 31) Paul watched and cared for the Ephesians with many tears. He did not hestiate to tell anyone the good news, because he did not want anyone to miss out on God's grace. He's preached God's message, yet he still worries about them and the wolves among the flock that will draw them away from God's truth. When it came time to leave, there was much praying, hugging, tears and sadness. These were people that truly cared about each other and their futures here on earth and afterwards.
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