Ubuntu

1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it[a] says:
“When he ascended on high, 
 he took many captives 
 and gave gifts to his people.”[b]
9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions[c]? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So 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.
14 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. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

When I was in South Africa I learned about a philosophy taught by Nelson Mandela called, Ubuntu. It is an African term which essentially means “I am because of who we all are” It’s a term used to describe community, respect, peace, love for one another. When I learned about this then I never realized how close this fits in with the gospel. We are a part of the body of Christ, but we cannot work alone. It is through unity in Christ we are able to come together in the name of Jesus.

(watch this then the read the rest :))


1 Corinthians 12:12
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

God chose each one of us as an individual to be a representation of His Name and His love in our lives, but we are a part of the church as a whole. It is through our own God given ministries in life that we are able to work together to win lives for the kingdom of God and teach others about the love of Christ. We all have people the Lord put in our lives to expose truth to. Are we doing this? Are we representing the gospel? Living life with Ubuntu in mind?

In the scripture above it say in verse 3 “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” Those words “make every effort” is translated in Greek as “ Spegatso.” Spegatso means “do whatever it takes,” “by all means”, “whatever the cost”. I know in my own life, I don’t go all the way very often because I am hindered by my own insecurities, fear, laziness, etc. I can think of a thousands reasons. But God calls us to make EVERY effort, to share His love, to share His peace, to share His Word, so that we fulfill our calling as Christ followers.

Girls, even in our relationships with one another, we are who we are because of what we are together. We learn from one another. We experience God in new ways because of how each other has seen or experienced God. We are a body. We need to be working together at all times, growing in the same direction. We are so blessed to fellowship to grow in.

As Nelson Mandela says in the video, when a person comes in the village for food and water, once he stops, he doesn’t have to ask for food and water, the people just give him food and water.

The same should be in our lives. We are given this gift of salvation. People in our lives should not have to ask for it. It should be the first thing we offer in and through our lives when we come in contact with others. It is a high calling to be a Christ follower, and its comfortable and not easy at times, but I desire to know what the fullness of the measure of God is like and through following Him we get to experience that. So its all worth it.

Lord, we praise you for you are the perfect example of love. We desire to walk in your ways and practice “spegatso” taking every means necessary to follow your will and take opportunities to share the gospel. Give us the hearts to serve you and be boldly proclaiming your name. May we be convicted individually, to pour out on to the whole body, encouragement and motivation to expand your Kingdom. It is in you and through you we are whole. You are the only way Jesus and we acknowledge that today knowing you are the one we desire to reflect. We love you, give us opportunity and a heart to lead others to your Name. Amen.

Xoxo- N