Today's passage shows that, at the time of writing this letter, there were numerous moving parts and urgent needs throughout the Church. The Christian walk is not static, but dynamic. God always enables and empowers His body to do the work He has for us to do, but we need to be ready, willing, and active in obedience. While there is not the legalism of the Law, as Jesus ushered in grace that the Law could not provide, there are still numerous commands throughout the New Testament we must follow. This is how we show our love to God (John 14.15) and while those commands are not a burden (1 John 5.3), we may feel as though we are being poured out in service (Philippians 2.17, 2 Timothy 4.6). We are only pouring out what God has first put in us, so we are not relying on our own works, but on God's provision (Colossians 1.29, Philippians 2.13). As we see in this passage, much of the pouring out is to others in the Church. Remember, this act of emulating Christ Jesus and loving one another is the hallmark of Christianity (John 13.35, Colossians 3.12-17). May the word of God teach us how to care for one another, and how to pour out what God has blessed us with in service to others to His glory.

Luke Harbaugh