Ephesians 4:14-16

14 We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15 But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body's growth in building itself up in love.

Questions to consider:

• What does it mean, in the context of this passage, to be a child?
• In what situations do you think it might be most important to speak truth in love?
• Do you see a common theme in these verses?
  

Possibilities for prayer:

The image of a body is one that comes up repeatedly throughout the book of Ephesians, and we've already seen it mentioned more than once in the course of the chapter thus far. This image can be really helpful in understanding how God desires all of us to relate to each other--with an understanding of how each individual part contributes to the whole and without disdain for the "lesser" parts or jealousy of the "greater" parts.

Let's pray today that we would be grateful for the role that God has given us and work to the best of our abilities to fulfill that role well. Let's particularly ask God for the ability and desire to speak the truth in love, in an effort to grow toward and into God, as the writer of Ephesians advises.