Romans 12:5 (NIV)
So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
“Ouch!” It was just yesterday morning I uttered this word. I had knocked my knee against something and had to sit down as I held it with both hands. I grimaced in pain and i’m sure i felt a wave of heat course through my body because soon I felt hot, as if I was about to break out into a sweat. So here's the thing: I “grimaced” as a coping mechanism. My knee was in pain, but even my face got involved in trying to help deal with the pain.
Imagine for a moment that you are asleep somewhere and something bites your finger. It could be a spider or a few ants, or – in my part of the world – a mosquito. In your sleep you unconsciously reach over your other hand to scratch the resulting itch. No relief yet, so you wake up – rudely interrupting the closing credits of your 4[SUP]th[/SUP] dream – to deal with the problem. So even though it was just a finger (weighing a few grams) your whole 85kg bodyis now awake. Annoying? Maybe. However, it’s a natural response – the way your body responds to its environment each day.
What if, instead, your body got up to reason and debate the matter? Would the other hand ask, “How long do you want me to scratch you? If its for long then I’m not interested.” or would your eyes stare at the red swelling on your finger, while the mouth says, “What is wrong with you? How did you get into this mess? Now we all have to take time out of our schedules to help you out! Or would the rest of the body make fun of the finger? “A Spider bite? Now look at you. Oh you are getting red and starting to swell. Do you know how ridiculous you look? First tell us what you were doing hanging out on the Web!”
This would be – at best - unthinkable.
So when Paul taught that we as Christians are one body, what did God have in mind? Remember the church in Acts? Do you remember that when Jesus prayed in Gethsemane He specifically asked that we may be united as He and the Father are One. Paul then went to mention in his Epistles that we are a body. We should be able to appreciate what he meant because we can relate. Each of us has one – a body.
It’s sad therefore when one sees dysfunction in a church – and I’m talking of a single congregation here. Cliques emerge and certain members feel like outsiders. The hurting or those who are struggling on some level have to practically find their own way when there are many in the church whom God has placed in that congregation, for that season to impact the life of someone else. I don’t believe I am in my congregation by accident. God has used many in our flock to touch my life and I hope that, through me, he has impacted theirs in some way too. We each have gifts and resources that God can use. He even can use those tough experiences that we have had to go through. When the church does behave like “the Body”, like a family, its awesome. Even a casual visitor can notice a dynamic that echoes Jesus words, “By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”
So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”
“Ouch!” It was just yesterday morning I uttered this word. I had knocked my knee against something and had to sit down as I held it with both hands. I grimaced in pain and i’m sure i felt a wave of heat course through my body because soon I felt hot, as if I was about to break out into a sweat. So here's the thing: I “grimaced” as a coping mechanism. My knee was in pain, but even my face got involved in trying to help deal with the pain.
Imagine for a moment that you are asleep somewhere and something bites your finger. It could be a spider or a few ants, or – in my part of the world – a mosquito. In your sleep you unconsciously reach over your other hand to scratch the resulting itch. No relief yet, so you wake up – rudely interrupting the closing credits of your 4[SUP]th[/SUP] dream – to deal with the problem. So even though it was just a finger (weighing a few grams) your whole 85kg bodyis now awake. Annoying? Maybe. However, it’s a natural response – the way your body responds to its environment each day.
What if, instead, your body got up to reason and debate the matter? Would the other hand ask, “How long do you want me to scratch you? If its for long then I’m not interested.” or would your eyes stare at the red swelling on your finger, while the mouth says, “What is wrong with you? How did you get into this mess? Now we all have to take time out of our schedules to help you out! Or would the rest of the body make fun of the finger? “A Spider bite? Now look at you. Oh you are getting red and starting to swell. Do you know how ridiculous you look? First tell us what you were doing hanging out on the Web!”
This would be – at best - unthinkable.
So when Paul taught that we as Christians are one body, what did God have in mind? Remember the church in Acts? Do you remember that when Jesus prayed in Gethsemane He specifically asked that we may be united as He and the Father are One. Paul then went to mention in his Epistles that we are a body. We should be able to appreciate what he meant because we can relate. Each of us has one – a body.
It’s sad therefore when one sees dysfunction in a church – and I’m talking of a single congregation here. Cliques emerge and certain members feel like outsiders. The hurting or those who are struggling on some level have to practically find their own way when there are many in the church whom God has placed in that congregation, for that season to impact the life of someone else. I don’t believe I am in my congregation by accident. God has used many in our flock to touch my life and I hope that, through me, he has impacted theirs in some way too. We each have gifts and resources that God can use. He even can use those tough experiences that we have had to go through. When the church does behave like “the Body”, like a family, its awesome. Even a casual visitor can notice a dynamic that echoes Jesus words, “By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”